This is a story of loss, not just of a loved one, but also of our collective sanity.
There is no reason to respond individually to condolences. The reason being is that as we grow older, and suffer loss, the best way I believe to alleviate it is collectively. I am not even sure why this is. Maybe it is because that person shared a fragment of themselves with us and in so gathering we can present a mosaic of the people that he touched, including us Bare-Faced Plague-Spreaders.
I lost an Aunt a couple weeks back. She had health issues before the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, my Uncle, who as a kid I loved and thought he was cool Uncle, was sadly one of the most isolating people and believed in the catechism of the mask and vaccine. He had asthma growing up, and due to his wife who was in ill health, he did not want anyone close. He even stipulated that vaccination was a requirement for access.
I thought of writing him a couple times, not as a backwards, one legged overweight nephew, but as a proxy for my father. I probably have told you this, but my father had rheumatoid arthritis, He was immune compromised, crippled most of his life, did at times go in and out of the hospital, and spent much of his later years as I am now, in a wheelchair.
Not once in my recollection do I remember my father demanding accommodation for his illness. When we kids got sick, he never handed out masks, yelled "RULE!," or kept us at arms length and self isolated or had us isolate. He attended concerts, sporting events, reunions, restaurants, and all manner of group gatherings. He took his health as his responsibility, reading Longevity magazines, being an avid reader. He was well versed on all manner of treatments and supplements for his arthritis. his short bout with cancer which went into remission was due they think to one of the arthritis drugs he took.
He never would have, had he lived, made accommodation to his disease a stipulation of access. On my end, I would never demand such because who the f am I to demand anything of other people? But for him, he wanted to live life normally.
I did not know my Aunt well. She, my Aunt Paula, and my Mom would get together and smoke and talk each time our families got together in Southhaven Michigan, or again in New Jersey for our larger reunions. And my Aunt Sue was there by mom's bed side in th end when she succumbed to cancer. So when I think of the good days, I remember the sunny summer's of the seventies when I was a kid and mourn the loss of not only the family, but that free time in which we lived without all the mental debris we now endure due to government interventions.
That is exactly why I decided to write about it. It is indeed a loss far greater than the loss of the departed, individually or collectively. Besides the loss of the departed, we also lose the relationships we have/had with at least some of those who also attend wakes and funerals; family and friends.
You lost the relationship you had with and your memories of your “cool” uncle tainted by this madness. The person who told me to mask up is the only one of the group who is unvaxxed. I am to try to keep the junk out of my kid’s arms, but all the others are believers, except the one who told me to mask. Is our relationship now scuttled? I do not know yet but experience tells me to prepare for it having been.
Numerous relationships I had with coworkers, bosses, employers and students have been broken because of the stupid mask. Schools and bosses I had a great relationship with no longer employ me nor could I ask my bosses for reference letters. Have never been in such a position. I know of teachers who have inappropriate relations with underaged students get letters of recommendation but I cannot because I will not wear a mask. Surreality.
I have read quite a few posts and comments of substackers and others who have various immunological issues have stated similar to your father’s attitude as demonstrated by your account of how he lived his life. Yet the young and healthy today demand we mask and vax to protect their health, among others. Surreality.
This will be incorporated into the next part of the series I threatened everyone with.
I believe the same thing--"Rule!"--was uttered in Manchuria in the "Water Purification Facilities" of Unit 731. Obviously, that man you referred to is an empty vessel just waiting to be filled with whatever the media tell him.
Actually, it is worse. He is not an empty vessel, he knows that it useless and counterproductive, yet he does it anyway. He does not have the excuse of ignorance.
I am so glad you wrote of this here. It is the 'calm before the storm' kind of commentary I appreciate. Soon, or perhaps not so soon, things will change dramatically in Japan, relative to your enemies, Russia, China, and North Korea (acting on the orders of the other two). Beware.
I believe it is a calm before the storm scenario. Excess deaths after the roll out of the clot shots seem to be happening everywhere that uptake of the vaxxes was high. Until proven otherwise, I am convinced the clot shot did him in with help of the depravation we have all been forced to endure. He is the third I know who has been taken by them. There will be increasing more until there are not enough of the multishotted left to have as big an impact with their collective passings.
I told a boss that I hoped he did not live near a US military installation. I believe that in a do over of WW2, the Chinese will take out as much of the US navy and air force as possible here in Japan as they invade Taiwan. They are on the path to invade Taiwan and will when they eel the time is right to do so unless we get them to change course. We are doing nothing to get them to change course.
I think that is the wise way to go about it. However, they have a chip on their shoulder. They have been raped and pillaged by western nations for centuries and then Japan and they want payback. And not just economic payback. They want to visit upon us what our ancestors visited upon them. That’s their thinking anyway. Then we have the fact that they too have torpedoed their own economy with their covid lockdowns and the domestic political stuff that may prompt them to start a war in addition to wanting payback.
The second part of your comment I agree with totally. I would add that the Chinese have been working hard to help this along. They may not be alone.
We’ll see. You might know before me through. Actually, I might never know, depending where I am when the missiles land.
I am not sure the Chicoms will start with an all out war. I expect them to try some kind of economic blockade first because they hope that the Taiwanese will buckle and the US will not help them. They may be right about the second, I'm not so sure about the first though. I can see that escalating though when Japan and other nations such as Vietnam, S Korea and the Philippines start supporting the Taiwanese and causing trouble for the PLAN and PLAAF forces attempting top enforce the blockade.
I think we have a year or so though because they want to wait until the US election has played out to see what happens. Though I could be wrong and they go for this autumn as soon as they feel there is no more chance of a typhoon disrupting things.
Of course all this assumes the PRC doesn't itself start imploding first, which I think is possible because I think their economy is in much bigger trouble than is visible from outside.
I think they have already started with various of non conventional warfare and that they been preparing for direct conflict with the US. US boarder patrol has reported huge numbers of militarily aged and fit Chinese men crossing in to the US. Same for young men from other countries too. China has been helping drug cartels with the production of fentanyl which the open boarder allows to flow in to the States like a tsunami. They are buying farmland next to US military installations. This last has finally caught the attention of some but I don’t think it has been solved yet.
Yes, the smart thing would be to do as you suggest, but when has doing the smart thing ever been a prerequisite of any government policy. Did Japan do the smart thing in WW2? Germany? Did the US in Viet Nam? Did the UN in Korea? Long list of dumb decisions leading to horrible defeats because they started stupid wars
Their mistake will be how they want to destroy us, prison and gulag and killing fields won't do. Reagan said the only difference of opinion between Russia and China was how to destroy us.
Just a bit confused here. When your friend (or perhaps I should write erstwhile friend) shouted RULE at you, does that likely mean it was the policy of the funeral hall? But even if it was, you mentioned that you were one of six who didn't wear masks. I don't understand why he'd make a huge point of screaming at you when there were 5 others in the funeral hall who weren't wearing masks. But perhaps you were the only one in the matsuri group not wearing one, and he viewed that as making the group look bad.
Anyhoo, that's got to be one of the most depressing wakes I've ever heard about. I have so few friends myself that if one of my only friends acted toward me in public as your "friend" did to you, I'd be shocked and depressed, too. Wish I could take you out drinking as a "post mortem" of your sad wake. It would be good to end up ruefully laughing about how pathetic your experience was.
As the Maori say here in NZ -- "Kia Kaha". Stay strong.
Yes, I was the only one in our group who was maskless. Additionally, the other unmasked were still in the ceremony hall, though the doors were open and whatever sound was made in the one room was heard in both. He also had the official “Reception” badge on, for whatever that may have affected his actions.
This is a story of loss, not just of a loved one, but also of our collective sanity.
There is no reason to respond individually to condolences. The reason being is that as we grow older, and suffer loss, the best way I believe to alleviate it is collectively. I am not even sure why this is. Maybe it is because that person shared a fragment of themselves with us and in so gathering we can present a mosaic of the people that he touched, including us Bare-Faced Plague-Spreaders.
I lost an Aunt a couple weeks back. She had health issues before the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, my Uncle, who as a kid I loved and thought he was cool Uncle, was sadly one of the most isolating people and believed in the catechism of the mask and vaccine. He had asthma growing up, and due to his wife who was in ill health, he did not want anyone close. He even stipulated that vaccination was a requirement for access.
I thought of writing him a couple times, not as a backwards, one legged overweight nephew, but as a proxy for my father. I probably have told you this, but my father had rheumatoid arthritis, He was immune compromised, crippled most of his life, did at times go in and out of the hospital, and spent much of his later years as I am now, in a wheelchair.
Not once in my recollection do I remember my father demanding accommodation for his illness. When we kids got sick, he never handed out masks, yelled "RULE!," or kept us at arms length and self isolated or had us isolate. He attended concerts, sporting events, reunions, restaurants, and all manner of group gatherings. He took his health as his responsibility, reading Longevity magazines, being an avid reader. He was well versed on all manner of treatments and supplements for his arthritis. his short bout with cancer which went into remission was due they think to one of the arthritis drugs he took.
He never would have, had he lived, made accommodation to his disease a stipulation of access. On my end, I would never demand such because who the f am I to demand anything of other people? But for him, he wanted to live life normally.
I did not know my Aunt well. She, my Aunt Paula, and my Mom would get together and smoke and talk each time our families got together in Southhaven Michigan, or again in New Jersey for our larger reunions. And my Aunt Sue was there by mom's bed side in th end when she succumbed to cancer. So when I think of the good days, I remember the sunny summer's of the seventies when I was a kid and mourn the loss of not only the family, but that free time in which we lived without all the mental debris we now endure due to government interventions.
I wish you well as you grapple with these issues.
That is exactly why I decided to write about it. It is indeed a loss far greater than the loss of the departed, individually or collectively. Besides the loss of the departed, we also lose the relationships we have/had with at least some of those who also attend wakes and funerals; family and friends.
You lost the relationship you had with and your memories of your “cool” uncle tainted by this madness. The person who told me to mask up is the only one of the group who is unvaxxed. I am to try to keep the junk out of my kid’s arms, but all the others are believers, except the one who told me to mask. Is our relationship now scuttled? I do not know yet but experience tells me to prepare for it having been.
Numerous relationships I had with coworkers, bosses, employers and students have been broken because of the stupid mask. Schools and bosses I had a great relationship with no longer employ me nor could I ask my bosses for reference letters. Have never been in such a position. I know of teachers who have inappropriate relations with underaged students get letters of recommendation but I cannot because I will not wear a mask. Surreality.
I have read quite a few posts and comments of substackers and others who have various immunological issues have stated similar to your father’s attitude as demonstrated by your account of how he lived his life. Yet the young and healthy today demand we mask and vax to protect their health, among others. Surreality.
This will be incorporated into the next part of the series I threatened everyone with.
I believe the same thing--"Rule!"--was uttered in Manchuria in the "Water Purification Facilities" of Unit 731. Obviously, that man you referred to is an empty vessel just waiting to be filled with whatever the media tell him.
Actually, it is worse. He is not an empty vessel, he knows that it useless and counterproductive, yet he does it anyway. He does not have the excuse of ignorance.
I am so glad you wrote of this here. It is the 'calm before the storm' kind of commentary I appreciate. Soon, or perhaps not so soon, things will change dramatically in Japan, relative to your enemies, Russia, China, and North Korea (acting on the orders of the other two). Beware.
Once again, my condolences on your loss.
-Edwin
I believe it is a calm before the storm scenario. Excess deaths after the roll out of the clot shots seem to be happening everywhere that uptake of the vaxxes was high. Until proven otherwise, I am convinced the clot shot did him in with help of the depravation we have all been forced to endure. He is the third I know who has been taken by them. There will be increasing more until there are not enough of the multishotted left to have as big an impact with their collective passings.
I told a boss that I hoped he did not live near a US military installation. I believe that in a do over of WW2, the Chinese will take out as much of the US navy and air force as possible here in Japan as they invade Taiwan. They are on the path to invade Taiwan and will when they eel the time is right to do so unless we get them to change course. We are doing nothing to get them to change course.
We live in interesting times.
Ibeleive the Chinese have no intention of invading Taiwan, it will fall like a ripe apple into their hands., chip manufacture included.
The real deal is the USA, and they don't need to invade (yet). A civil war sponsored by terrorists and protected by police, is incoming.
I think that is the wise way to go about it. However, they have a chip on their shoulder. They have been raped and pillaged by western nations for centuries and then Japan and they want payback. And not just economic payback. They want to visit upon us what our ancestors visited upon them. That’s their thinking anyway. Then we have the fact that they too have torpedoed their own economy with their covid lockdowns and the domestic political stuff that may prompt them to start a war in addition to wanting payback.
The second part of your comment I agree with totally. I would add that the Chinese have been working hard to help this along. They may not be alone.
We’ll see. You might know before me through. Actually, I might never know, depending where I am when the missiles land.
I am not sure the Chicoms will start with an all out war. I expect them to try some kind of economic blockade first because they hope that the Taiwanese will buckle and the US will not help them. They may be right about the second, I'm not so sure about the first though. I can see that escalating though when Japan and other nations such as Vietnam, S Korea and the Philippines start supporting the Taiwanese and causing trouble for the PLAN and PLAAF forces attempting top enforce the blockade.
I think we have a year or so though because they want to wait until the US election has played out to see what happens. Though I could be wrong and they go for this autumn as soon as they feel there is no more chance of a typhoon disrupting things.
Of course all this assumes the PRC doesn't itself start imploding first, which I think is possible because I think their economy is in much bigger trouble than is visible from outside.
I think they have already started with various of non conventional warfare and that they been preparing for direct conflict with the US. US boarder patrol has reported huge numbers of militarily aged and fit Chinese men crossing in to the US. Same for young men from other countries too. China has been helping drug cartels with the production of fentanyl which the open boarder allows to flow in to the States like a tsunami. They are buying farmland next to US military installations. This last has finally caught the attention of some but I don’t think it has been solved yet.
Yes, the smart thing would be to do as you suggest, but when has doing the smart thing ever been a prerequisite of any government policy. Did Japan do the smart thing in WW2? Germany? Did the US in Viet Nam? Did the UN in Korea? Long list of dumb decisions leading to horrible defeats because they started stupid wars
We’ll see.
Their mistake will be how they want to destroy us, prison and gulag and killing fields won't do. Reagan said the only difference of opinion between Russia and China was how to destroy us.
I had not heard that Reagan quote but agree.
Neither can destroy us, individually or together unless we let them. We are letting them.
Just a bit confused here. When your friend (or perhaps I should write erstwhile friend) shouted RULE at you, does that likely mean it was the policy of the funeral hall? But even if it was, you mentioned that you were one of six who didn't wear masks. I don't understand why he'd make a huge point of screaming at you when there were 5 others in the funeral hall who weren't wearing masks. But perhaps you were the only one in the matsuri group not wearing one, and he viewed that as making the group look bad.
Anyhoo, that's got to be one of the most depressing wakes I've ever heard about. I have so few friends myself that if one of my only friends acted toward me in public as your "friend" did to you, I'd be shocked and depressed, too. Wish I could take you out drinking as a "post mortem" of your sad wake. It would be good to end up ruefully laughing about how pathetic your experience was.
As the Maori say here in NZ -- "Kia Kaha". Stay strong.
Yes, I was the only one in our group who was maskless. Additionally, the other unmasked were still in the ceremony hall, though the doors were open and whatever sound was made in the one room was heard in both. He also had the official “Reception” badge on, for whatever that may have affected his actions.