In the 'never thought it would happen' department

Some filler text so you don't get forced to read details you might not want to know. This will not be a happy cheerful blog. Read on at your own risk, though there is Celina and Curtis to cheer you up after.

So some news on a personal front. Linda's nephew, Matthew McKinnon, was killed in an altercation on Sunday night in Brockville Ontario. It appears he was stabbed and probably bled to death. He is only 32, with a small child. Another man fled the scene and later surrendered to police and the emergency response team. He is in custody and has been charged with second degree murder and weapons offences. Details beyond that are sketchy.

I hardly even know where to begin. He lives in Ontario so I don't know him well. He's had some ups and downs in life, but from what we heard, had married and settled down. I've never met his spouse or child.

It's a traumatic time for Linda's sisters and their families. They all live nearby. It will be a sad time for all involved as we go through the process of burial. Then we move on with that hole in our lives. But I'm thinking about the spouse and child. How do they move on? Do they know the assailant? The horrible thought I've been having on and off is that they were there when the altercation happened, although I don't know if that's true or not. The repercussions of this event could echo for a couple generations. I'm pretty sure nobody intended for any of this to happen.

As it happens, I'm reading a book of short stories called, Machine of Death. The premise is that the machine takes a sample of your blood and tells you how you will die. Not when or where, just how, and it's somewhat cryptic and it seems to have a sense of irony. I'm about half through and enjoying it.

I've had a few experiences where I knew I was doing something for the last time. In some of them it's because they were going to die soon, and I wouldn't see them again. A knowing final goodbye is hard.

A few times it's being in a place that is going to change dramatically. The best example I can think of is the Cartmell properties in Chilliwack. In my childhood there were four homes fronting a dairy farm. My great-aunt Bessie (who made the best cookies!) lived in the first, and it was torn down and replaced with a big house for my Uncle Leonard. I was in both homes many times. My great uncle  Arthur lived in the next house. Behind his house was a kid's playground with a small zip line and some monkey bar stuff. Then an orchard, then the original house my grand parents lived in, and then my uncle Barrie moved into. My grandparents built a house next down, and a cousin now lives there. The other homes have been sold, and the farm as such is no longer there. I have many happy memories of it. At one point some years ago, I walked through that area, knowing the properties were about to be sold and the old farm buildings torn down, and more houses put up in between. Part of the inevitable changes of time.

Nobody ever thinks they are going to die when they head out on some errand. We think we will do our business, get home, and carry on. Some of us don't make it. There are a great many ways of dying in day to day life, with some sort of abrupt medical event or an auto collision highest on the list. Dying from being stabbed isn't particularly high on that list, so that makes it a bit more shocking.

I don't mean to be all morbid about this, but there is every chance that you have already seen some people for the last time. Think about that for a moment. Maybe it's an elderly relative and it will be no surprise to get THAT phone call. Maybe it's a work colleague in an industrial accident. It might be someone you are close to, or someone that you don't know well. Are you happy with the way you parted from them?

Linda is off to Ontario in a heavy snowstorm. They say 10-15 cm of snow, and I can believe it. Part of the drive back was near whiteout conditions. The hardest part was trying to read the snow obscured construction detour signs on the scenic route trying to avoid traffic. I suspect lots of people will be late for work today. I didn't see any collisions, but did see a couple wipeouts. This is since this morning.

You wouldn't know it unless I told you, but this is one of Linda's seasonal decorations. I was hoping to get better photos after she finished, but that might not happen now. You may have to make do with interim photos.

I get to be the sole caregiver to the cats, a situation they find completely unacceptable, till we have a few more details, then I'll be flying out as well. To cheer you up, here's a Curtis Celina lick-fest.

Deadwood of the Day