Mortality and Being 'Right' With Everyone

Sadly yesterday saw two cultural icons of the 70's and 80's pass away before their time. Both were adorned by the media and public and profited very much by the evolution of various forms of mass media in the United States during this time.

Charlie Angels was by no means an intellectually stimulating television show. However, it was a show our family would watch on a weekly basis. If I recall, correctly, the show had a general 'who done it' mystery or detective theme. Farrah marked the beauty standard all others were judged by in the mid to late 1970's.

Michael Jackson, in spite of leading a lifetime of eccentric behavior due to a misaligned self image has left a legacy of music only paralleled by few others such as Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley. He deftly married rhythm and blues with pop music which appealed to people of all races around the world. His most unique quality was his global appeal - he seemingly had a large fan base in most every country of the world.

During a time when we mourn for those who have influenced our lives, it makes you wonder about your own mortality. You live life never knowing when your time will be up. I have been blessed with an awesome wife who has done a marvelous job with raising our two children. Our family has been a blessing which continually enriches our lives to unfathomable depths.

I have a wonderful mother and father-in-law. Due to an unfortunate circumstance where I also have a sister-in-law who has for nearly a decade proven less than capable of raising her own kids due to selfish and short-sighted decisions which prove to be of no benefit to her own children, my mother and father-in law have selflessly intervened and are raising them on a nearly full time basis. Because my parent's in law require a substantial amount of time to raise their other grandchildren, they do not have time to dedicate solely to our children.

My most fond memories of a child were with my grandparents and I feel my sons are being cheated out of one on one time with their maternal grandparents because of my sister-in-law's selfishness and her profound laziness regarding doing the things necessary day in and day out to provide for the welfare of her own children.

My mother-in-law and I have had contentious dialogue regarding the allocation of her time with her grandchildren. She spends hundreds of hours more every year with her other grandchildren than our children - most all of it one on one time. I know deep in my heart she loves them all and is merely filling the parental void created by my sister-in-law.