For My Daddy

Began a cloudy day at work. It wasn't bad when I came in, probably because it was about an hour and a half before the Eagles game was supposed to start. The Eagles played the Jacksonville Jaguars in London this morning. They didn't start off so great. When I put on the game in the back room, the Jaguars had just kicked a second field goal and had pulled ahead 6-3. Thankfully, it would seem that this state of affairs didn't last long. They came back in the second half and eventually won 24-18 (although Jodie would later say that there were a few nervous moments in the fourth quarter).

By the time the game was ending and it was becoming apparent that they were going to win, the crowds had arrived. I was able to do the outside trash and recycling, clean the bathrooms, and return a few cold items in the morning. Spent the rest of the day outside, returning carts that kept vanishing. Even with two other baggers outside later in the day, they still kept disappearing. Not to mention, the weather was damp and gloomy and windy (though slightly warmer than it has been). I was so happy when it was time to head out.

Went straight to Dad and Jodie's house. Everyone was gone by then, but that was ok. I really just wanted to talk to the two of them. Jodie had a breakfast-brunch for the Eagles game. She saved me French toast casserole, strawberries, Rose's home-made applesauce, strawberry shortcake Vanessa brought from Desserts By Design, and onion rings.

Dad did give me a check to cover the money for the air conditioner mishap. I feel terrible about all this. I know I should be less nervous about asking for help, but I never know who's going to be around. At least Dad and Jodie, who have had a variety of jobs between the two of them over the years, are more understanding about my not wanting to get a second retail job than Rose is. I just need to find something online.

Rose called me when I was at work, but she missed me by 10 minutes. I took my break early. I called her back when I was at Dad and Jodie's. Rose was driving and couldn't talk long...but she had enough time to tell me that Dad-Bill died of cancer early this morning. His cancer had gotten really terrible, to the point where they couldn't touch his skin without pain.

There will be a memorial service for Dad on Friday. I'll see if I can get off. I don't know if I'll be able to. It's kind of short notice, but it's also a funeral.

I don't know how I feel. Dad-Bill was suffering, and has been for months. I'm glad he's in a better place...but he was also the dad who raised me, and I did love him. I'm going to miss him badly. He was fun to be around, great at math, and told the best bad jokes. He's only the second person in my life I've lost whom I really knew well after Uncle Ken in 2012.

Talked with Dad and Jodie for a little while longer while watching the afternoon football games. The Steelers beat the Browns 33-18 in a game that a city wracked by loss badly needed. The Bears blew the Jets away 24-10 in the Windy City. It's probably a good thing Dad-Bill didn't live to see his beloved Giants just barely lose to the Redskins 20-13 at the Meadowlands. In a Battle for the Southeast, the Panthers leaped past the Ravens 36-21.

(Jodie also suggested that I dye my hair, which is getting gray strands. She really liked dark red or auburn. As much as the idea of being a redhead intrigues me, I'm fine with my gray. I finally look older.)

I called Mom when I got home. Didn't get her then and opted to just go into writing after I changed. The prologue is set in 1970, 32 years after the main story ends. Finn, Poe, and Rey are the new Guardians chosen by the Swords. Leia's waiting for Harry to help explain their history and why the Swords have reactivated. As she waits, she explains what happened to the rest of their friends. Laurence still lives in the Riviera; in fact, he added two more hotels to his empire on the Cote d'Azur after World War II. Wedge Antilles flew in World War II and the Korean War and is now a commercial pilot. Harry was also in the war, flying cargo and making daring bombing runs. He finally started that small cargo business, though some of his clientele is a bit shady. They're not sure what happened to Jeanne and Cassian and their group. Leia presumes they died during the War.

Mom called back while I was finishing up my writing. Rose said she'd been really upset earlier, but she must have calmed down by the time she got a hold of me. She sounded much better. She pretty much echoed my earlier thoughts about Dad being in a better place and no longer suffering.

Had fried eggs with cheddar cheese, defrosted frozen green beans, and fried sweet potatoes for a simple dinner. Listened to three spooky episodes of The Shadow while I ate. Brett Morrison is the title character in the first two. "The Cat That Killed" has Lamont Cranston and Margo Lane taking part in a scavenger hunt when they see a huge cat attacking a watchman at a warehouse. Turns out that was the third watchman who was attacked by a giant cat. The young owner of the warehouse is getting desperate. His help is leaving him. Lamont disguises himself as a watchman to lure the "cat." Margo comes along and is promptly kidnapped, but The Shadow is on the trail of this so-called feline.

Lamont and Margo head out west to a "Ghost Town" that seems to have some very real supernatural phenomenon. The ghosts of a Mexican bandito, his sweetheart, and his rival for her affections supposedly haunt the former mining village, as told in an old cowboy's song. When "ghosts" turn up in places mentioned in the song, Lamont and Margo have to remember the lyrics to figure out what's going on.

Ended the night online with the earlier "White God." The Shadow takes Margo and a pilot to an island in the South Seas that has become a graveyard of ships and planes. When their plane goes down, they're forced to investigate. The "island" is really a giant magnet, created by an inventor who is burned by the natives and their "White God." The Shadow and Margo manage to rescue his daughter from iminent destruction inside a volcano, then use her death to their advantage into tricking the natives into realizing that their "god" is quite human.