Tuesday, October 23...another farewell.  My uncle Ronnie (my mother's brother) died suddenly in a very strange and tragic auto accident.  He had hit a deer on the highway, and for some reason that nobody understands, he was crossing the highway to find the deer, and was struck by a car.  He died a few hours later from massive injuries.  On Tuesday, I attended his funeral.  It was a very sad experience.  

 I hadn't seen him or my cousins since college, except my cousin Denise, who came to my wedding.  My cousins all had children, most of whom I hadn't met, and some of those children had children.  Meeting family members for the first time in a situation like that is not ideal by any means.  It seemed as though there were dozens of cousins I was meeting for the first time.  My uncle lived a simple life, but he was very loved by many, many people.   

 I found out today that my good friend Dave's brother Mike is in hospice right now, suffering from the final stages of brain & spinal cancer.  I don't know Mike very well, but Dave, Gina, Jenna and Lauren, and Dave's parents mean the world to me.  This is such sad news, and my thoughts are with them.

 This has been a tough year.  There have been far too many good byes.  I am hoping that 2013 will be much happier for everyone I care about.

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