Obit For a Fellow Letter Writer

I was very sad to see that Dr. Harvey had passed. I didn't know him, but have enjoyed his letters for some time. I was surprised to see that he was 98. A life well-lived.

A link (mostly) to his letters.

To pick one dear to my heart:

Despite the opposition of the gun industry and its ally the NRA who profit financially by opposing gun controls, there are obvious reasons for much more serious controls in the U.S.

And to those who argue that what we really need are more guns in the hands of all the people so that the legally armed can outshoot the illegal ones, I must disagree, that’s civil war. The fact that gun shooting deaths in the U.S. by psychos, grudge holders, emotionally disturbed, enemies, etc. far exceed that of any other modern democracy in the world means we’re doing something wrong. 

A second need  for more gun controls, and heretofore relatively unrecognized, appeared in a recent JAMA article entitled Getting Serious about Reducing Suicide, More “How” and Less “Why.” This point is well taken given the numerous and varied mental, emotional and physical factors involved, all of which are difficult to control and treat (i.e. the “Why”), whereas the use of a gun to actually commit suicide is much easier to control (i.e. the “How”).

The article calls the easy access to a firearm “The most important modifiable risk factor for suicide in the United States.” The case fatality rate for suicidal gun use is 84 percent, while the fatality for intentional self injury using other means is 4 percent. The next most lethal methods of suicide are hanging (69 percent) and falls (31 percent), but these account for fewer than half those by gun use.

This country should begin to treat firearm possession seriously as the rest of the world does.

Lives Well Lived

I don't care what you've accomplished with your life this woman's obit will make you feel inadequate.

Mary told wonderful stories of those days; including one of her flying with the base mailman in an open cockpit plane — upside down — over Grand Island, much to the concern of her landlady, Mrs. Livingston.

Oh, but that's such a small part. Read it all. 

And while reading Andy Borowitz, I saw this piece. If they gave the Nobel to Dylan, Leonard Cohen can't be far behind.

He alternated between extreme discipline and the varieties of abandon. There were days of fasting to concentrate the mind. There were drugs to expand it: pot, speed, acid. “I took trip after trip, sitting on my terrace in Greece, waiting to see God,” he said years later. “Generally, I ended up with a bad hangover.”

No word on whether he ever flew upside down in an open cockpit plane. But then, it doesn't sound like he needed the plane.

"Putting your house in order, if you can do it, is one of the most comforting activities, and the benefits of it are incalculable.”

Words to live by.

A Belated Funeral Notice

I was out walking the other day and as is my wont, I was stopping to pick up a few returnables. I am, I should say, pretty wimpy about it. If I have to walk through mud or water, or if it's dirty or been there awhile the can or bottle is staying for someone else or the forces of nature to take care of. I'm only a cheap bastard to a point. Anyway, the most interesting person I've ever met came to mind. Don't know if Reader's Digest still runs that, but they do, Lawrence is mine. Been meaning to make a copy of his obit for some time now and had neglected it. Some people do grave rubbings, I collect obits of people I know. So, courtesy of the Glens Falls Post Star:


QUEENSBURY - Lawrence "June" Millington Jr., 65, of Queensbury, passed away on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2011, at Albany Medical Center. He was born April 6, 1946 in Niskayuna, the son of the late Lawrence and Nancy Estella (Williams) Millington.

June, who was autistic, lived on his own, and was very proud of that fact. He loved spending hours listening to music, looking over maps, watching movies, sports, and doing word search puzzles. Some of his favorite games were Yahtzee, Scrabble and Dominoes, which he was able to play at the East Side Center on Maple Street since it was originally founded in 1985. He was well known for collecting bottles, which was one of his hobbies and just for the last 19 years alone, June collected approximately 3.8 million bottles off the streets of the Queensbury area, which would go around the world at least once.

One of June's favorite sayings was, "here is just a funny story to share with you." He was able to tell you what day of the week you were born on, when you told him your birthday and he never forgot a birthday or your name. Then he could proceed to tell you other famous people that were born on the same day as you, what record was released on the day, or actor played in a movie that was playing during that time period, or how many different songs your name was in and sung by what artist. His knowledge base in the entertainment genre alone was mind boggling. And he could bring up all that information faster than you could google it.

Survivors include his sister, Sally Wallace of Chestertown; his brother, Paul Millington and his wife, Irene, of Fort Ann; eight nephews and nieces; and seven grandnephew and nieces.

Funeral services will be 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, at the Singleton-Healy Funeral Home, 407 Bay Road, Queensbury. Burial will follow in Jonesville Cemetery. Family and friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m., today (Monday, Nov. 21, 2011), at the funeral home.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to his two case workers, Lori and Belinda from the East Side Center. Also special thanks goes out to the excellent care from Diana and Karla at Albany Medical Center.

Those who wish may make online condolences by visiting www.sbfuneralhome.com.

I think it was the first time I met him that he asked me when I was born and then proceeded to tell me that it was on a Tuesday. So, to him, I was then a green-eyed Tuesday's child. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew the exact number of cans and bottles he had picked up. Not mentioned in the obit is that he also could tell you the zip code of any town in NY and knew all the route numbers as well.

Hope you're in a good place Lawrence.