Fighting for Answers | Tag Archives: deathdeath Archives

Houdini Part V. – a Six Year Update

Hard to believe it has been six years since I wrote the Houdini/Ronald McDonald posts. You can find the first in the series here. By and large I have been living life. In fact, most of the last six years are documented within the pages of this site. There has been a lot of advocacy work. Learning new things, adapting our parenting style to our sons needs. But life does move on. Houdini – aka the birth father In the time that has passed, we have lost the birth father. He died alone. There was no obituary. There was no funeral. It is a sad end to a life. Every life deserves to be celebrated. He was such a “bad” man that no one in the family even knew he died. He has been gone almost 18 months now, and I realize that I have no feelings one way or

It’s all fun and games–until someone dies

I’ve been reading about the new middle-school craze–the Choking Game, which involves strangling (one’s self or someone else). The goal is to produce the light-headed feeling that happens when oxygen to the brain is cut off and the “rush” that happens when the choke is released and the oxygen flows back in. As one who, over the course of many years in the martial arts, did plenty of choking (and was choked at least as often), I can say that there is a tiny bit of truth there–you do get a little light-headed before passing out, and you do get a rush when the blood comes back. But I was reminded of two movies that dealt with exactly the same search for a choke-induced high. The movies I’m talking about are “Flatliners,” which starred Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts, and Kevin Bacon, and “In the Realm of The Senses,” a Japanese

my friend – Stan

My friend Stan could be difficult at times. Never was there a more self-deprecating man. On the other hand, his complete and utter faith that he would be greeted by Our Lord and Savior was refreshing, and I admit at first, off-putting. We had a disagreement a few weeks ago over his job. He was obligated to report what he thought was a harmful environment for a student. But didn’t want to make the call. I told him that I wouldn’t speak to him again if he didn’t hold true to his ethics. He was afraid he would lose a friend. In the end, he made the call. He learned that the family in question was already doing everything possible for their kids. He did his job and held true to his ethics. The family he had to report was mine. I still consider him a friend. Stan passed away