Live life to the fullest.

Let me start this thread off with saying: I am not looking for sympathy or a pity party. I do appreciate the well wishes I have received via private message and the public forum. If anything pray for the comfort of my mother.

The purpose of this post is to remind my scrapping brothers and sisters of the preciousness and shortness of life. You never know when your time is up.

I kind of told this story on one of Admiral Aluminum's threads and thought it would be best to start a new thread rather than high jack his thread.

I have (had) a typical family for the sixties and seventy's. Six kids , mother and father. My brothers Gail and Stan came home from Vietnam (Navy) when I was 8 years old. I was the baby of the family. My mother worried herself sick the whole time they were there.

Two months after they came home (1974ish???) from Vietnam Gail died of an aneurism while riding his motorcycle. Very difficult time for the family. I was just a kid.

Fast forward to 2007 my dad past away. I had no feelings and never shed a tear. Neither did my mother. Long story, not for this post. Six months later my brother Stan died of Amyloidosis, a rare disease that attacks all your organs. Something to do with proteins in your body. One of the members here knew Stan (ibscrappin) and let me say EVERYONE who met Stan loved him. he was very charismatic and his death was very hard on me. When He was in his forties and I was just out of high school we would chase chicks together. Another story. At this point my poor mother has buried two of her four sons.

Now it's 2015, and my third brother (Bruce) has died of brain cancer. (Third son my mother has buried). My sister ( Char) is at Mayo Clinic literally on her last breath. She has some rare lung disease. The doctors at Mayo are trying to figure out how they can cram enough oxygen into a plane or a van to get her to Fargo to say good bye to her mother. Char will be the 4th child my poor mother has had to say goodbye to.

Here's another life lesson: Bruce and Char have been on the outs with their mother for quite some time. Once they new their days were numbered they made amends with there mother. Funny how that works. Staring down death makes you think twice about your relationships with family.

So hear I sit typing on my iPad telling you fine folks of SMF how 4 of my 6 siblings have died. Just me and my oldest sister left. Kind of therapeutic for me I guess.



What I want to leave you with from this post is treat your family right and live everyday as if it was your last. I'm going to do more fishing and other things I enjoy and less work. Not to say you don't have to pay the bills, but take some time off for yourself. Back a few years ago when I was in my prime I made a hell of a lot of money and that money did not make me happy. Meeting and marrying my wife has meant much more to me than money.

I'm soon to be a grandpa from an unwed step-daughter. Neither I nor my wife was happy about the news of the pregnancy. However we are going to welcome this new life with open arms. Friends and family is where it's at.

Again, I'm not looking for a pity party or sympathy. Just want to remind members of SMF and lurkers that life is short. Don't take it for granted.