On my way home from an old friend’s memorial in MI this past weekend, I got a call from my mom that my papa was in the hospital with severe oxygen restriction and they didn’t know why. I was stuck in the teensy Traverse City airport with my flight already delayed by 2+ hours to get back home to NYC, and there were no options to re-route to get to San Diego. So I called all my girlfriends and occupied my time, worrying and trying not to stress too much.

I got home close to midnight, relieved there’d been a message upon landing that his breathing was back to normal. I still await new news, but my beloved papa waits as well- for the docs to decide whether or not he should get a pacemaker. So they watch and we all wait.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, I was part of an AK-fueled trek to attend our dear pal Doug Shoemaker’s memorial. Doug was one of the stars that made up the constellation that was the Petersburg tent city fishing scene of the late 80’s/early 90’s.

A group of us gathered- most of us staying at a sweet little cabin by the river- and we drank and ate and laughed and cried and sang and talked until the wee hours of the morning every night for days. Not enough sleep, just the right amount of AK light shining down on us all.

It was so good to see everyone, and so sad for why. Thank you, Doug. You are so missed already. At some point, we decided that the song we sang at his memorial- Tom Waits’ ‘Shiver Me Timbers’ – will be the song that everyone sings at anyone’s memorial, as we all pass into the gloaming to come. Until there is only one of us left, with no-one to sing the song for them 🙁

Ok, yup I’m sad and still reeling from the weekend and the calls. Love the people around you folks. Tell them all the time how much they matter so you don’t have to fret about not saying it enough when they’re gone.