Anti-Fantastic News

Just the karma of life I suppose, that following something good, something not good happens to keep the balance.
My dad called today to tell me my uncle Jamie, Dad's only sibling, had died. His brother was young, only 47, and my dad thinks he just gave up living. Their mother passed away two +/- years ago and Jamie had lived his whole life with her. (Grandad died a long time ago when the boys were teenagers.) He'd gone to school of course, even college, but he'd never had a job or a girlfriend and when grandma died, he was all alone. He didn't want to leave the only house he'd ever known and move closer to us, so we were a little surprised he hung around this long. (Is that a horrible thing to say?) He's probably happier, being with his mother again, and that makes me feel a little better. I really feel sorry for my father though. Uncle Jamie was the last of that side of the family - it wasn't large to begin with - so now my Dad's all alone. It's not the same, I know, he's got my mom and all us kids, and grandkids, but Jamie was the last person who knew my dad as a kid, the last person who knew the inside jokes we all have with our siblings, the only other person to talk about Grandma - young and pretty Grandma - with.
I might be going back to The Frozen North with my dad, depending on how the arrangements work out, to pick up all the pictures and things left behind. I'll let you know.

This is me, with the sad news now.