Pain, Loss, Kids

My son has a buddy, E. They've been in the same school for about five years now, and are reasonably close. My wife and I have gotten to know E's parents some, and our boy has spent the night over at E's house a few times. E's younger brother T developed a brain tumor over the past year or so, and last week he passed away. He was 11 years old. We went to T's funeral on Saturday. As you might expect, it was a very sad and draining event. One kid's funeral is too many, but it seems like I have been to way too many kid's funerals in the last couple of years. They tear me apart.

I think any parent looks at something like this and just can't imagine, CANNOT imagine, what the parents are feeling. No parent should have to bury a child at all, but when than child is *really* a child, the grief must be completely unbearable. I can't think about it without getting all upset and wanting to go hug my kids and keep them safe. Of course, you can't protect your kids from disease, and you can't lock them in the house, as much as you might want to, because they have to go out and learn about the world for themselves, and learn to protect hemselves, and learn to be responsible and well-adjusted citizens of the world all on their own. You try to teach them how to take care of themselves and you hope that some of it sinks in.

I try to tell my kids how much I love them, just like my mom used to try to tell me, and they look at me in probably the same way I used to look at Mom...they're humoring me, but they really don't get it. I don't think anyone gets it until they have kids of their own.

I know that anytime I see T's parents from now on, their eyes will show a pain that I can't imagine now, and hopefully will never feel. I won't understand their pain just as my kids don't understand how much I love them. I hope and pray that time and God will bring them some peace and comfort.

Molly Ivins on the Upcoming Election

Molly tells it like it is:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/19/ivins.elections/index.html

GOP asks their own candidate to withdraw

San Jose Mercury News

Mark Morford Strikes Again

Mark Morford is incredible:
What if we All Vanished Tomorrow?

EC Was Here

I took my spouse and kids to see Eric Clapton at the new John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville last week. The kids (ages 14 and 16) were not nearly as excited as D and I were. However, I think Eric won them over. It was a very well done show. Eric, at 61, can still rock. I had a bit of a sense that they were going through the motions, but not too much. They've been playing the same set list with tiny changes throughout this whole tour, of which Charlottesville was date 51. This makes me wonder if a live disc is in the offing. This was a totally new band for Eric. The rhythm section of Steve Jordan and Willie Weeks was rock solid. Two keyboards, two backup singers, and two hot young gunslingers on guitar, Doyle Bramhall II and Derek Trucks. I think having the young bucks on guitar works well for EC. They keep him young and on his toes, and he gets to share his wisdom with them. Trucks is a highly talented kid who played slide most of the night on a cherry red SG. He's not quite as lyrical a player as Duane, but is still young and very very good. Bramhall looks a bit like the guy who played Tony Almeida on 24, and has pretty serious chops. Highlights were Got To Get Better in a Little While, Anyday, Layla, Crossroads, and Motherless Children. Robert Cray opened, and joined EC and the band for Old Love and Crossroads.

GWB and Faith

Former White House Staffer David Kuo on BushCo's faith-based initiatives:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15292065/site/newsweek/