Saturday's Storyteller: In Memoriam
I didn't want to have to write another one of these. I hate the fact that I do have to write them. However, something tells me that I will be writing more of these as time goes on and I get older. Some people I write about, I hope, will pass on peacefully and at a good old age. Other times, I expect that the deaths will be untimely and very, very painful to deal with. On October 22nd of this year, my cousin, Michael Blackford, died in Germany from advanced pancreatic cancer. He was seventy-five years old, but he always had the spirit of someone much younger and full of life. He was an adventurer in so many ways, literally and figuratively. When he wasn't extensively traveling around the globe, he was studying our genealogy, making funny commentary in regards to politics, dressing up as Santa Claus, volunteering at museums, and being an amazing husband, father, and grandfather. He left behind a wonderful wife, who happens to be my grandmother's cousin; four children, and n