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| On Sunday I was watching Discovery HD (love that channel!) and they had a show about Australian wildlife. I happened to tune in right before the segment about the dingo came on. They look exactly like Kuma!
 
Except with a straight tail, Kuma's cousin, right! (They actually are related.) The show went on to say that "some dingos have become friends with humans, but it's important to remember that they are a wild dog at heart and are very unpredictable. If you see one in the wild, it's best to stay away." Ha! I thought, wow, no wonder Kuma is crazy, he's not domesticated yet! (Kuma has territorial issues, and has been known to snap.) So I record the show for Kaz to see because it's just too funny.
So then yesterday Kaz and I are about to take Kuma out for his afternoon walk, and I remembered the show and I was like, you have to see this before we go! We watched the segment and thought it was sooo funny we rewound and watched it again.
We go on our walk, still joking about how we live with a wild dog, hahaha, and then we hear "eek! eek! eek!" We turn around to see a squirrel in Kuma's mouth. He shakes his head, squirrel tail and head flailing, and the eeking stops and the squirrel falls limp in his mouth. Nice. So we're telling Kuma to "drop it" -- fat chance, he's growling and defending that thing with his life! Triyng to pull him away but he's got the brakes and jaw on full lock, leash somehow got twisted around the catch, can't go near him unless we want some fingers to suffer the same fate as the poor squirrel, so after a few minutes of fighting, we give him a little slack on the leash. Kuma takes this a forfit, so he puts Mr. Nutty down on the ground with his paw on the tail so he can start pulling off pieces of flesh. Having had experience with getting him away from things he's found on the ground that he's trying to eat (usually sticks), we know that a well-timed tug on the leash will get him away from said object without us risking getting too close. We FINALLY get him away after a few attempts. He looked back but then surprisingly walked away without the usual desperate pulling to get back at it - I thought the effort would be double since this one was live prey. But then I saw the look of satisfaction on his face, and realized that he didn't care if he didn't get to tear it apart, because this was the proudest moment in his life. He had finally caught a squirrel!
Kuma walked the rest of the way home with a big grin on his face basking in his own glory, as Kaz laughed in disbelief at the incident and even more so at the timing, and I tried really hard not to throw up. When we got home I gave Kuma a very thorough bath and I made Kaz throw the leash away because there was no way I was touching that thing again.
Today I went to go buy a new leash and collar, and it costed me almost $40! Stinking shiba. | | |
| We went to the funeral on the 8th, the Saturday after. It was a small, intimate, personal and beautiful service. The church it was in was gorgeous too - I'm not religious, but church architecture is inherantly uplifting and somehow spiritual. There was a gathering in a side room afterward, and we got to meet his family and R's family. Those couple of hours together were great - we spent the time telling stories, joking about what Mike would be fixing up in heaven, how he'd hack the 'system' to find ways to communicate with people through cloud patterns, and that he'd say how stupid we were for not noticing. :) It was a great way for those close to him to part ways. His wife is a very private person and didn't want a lot of people there, and so out of respect for her that's all I'll say about that.
Well, now I'm finally ready to start talking about my trip...so I'll start by directing you to my photos.
More next time.
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| I just saw a news clip from CBS interviewing Mike's research partner. They had just finished their research paper the previous weekend and were about to publish. When a brain cell dies, they proved that the cells surrounding the dead cell have to become stronger to make up for the loss. Their findings are a metaphor for Mike's death, he said - those around him will now have to make up for what Mike would have accomplished in his life. Kaz said it probably will take all the residents to do what Mike would have done on his own.
Here's an article the globe published about the three men:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/04/05/three_men_remembered_for_the_way_they_lived/
Kaz arrived home on Tuesday morning and went straight to the hospital for a department meeting. That day the senior residents generously volunteered to take over the shifts of everyone in the same class as Mike so they could have the day off. Their class spent the whole day together remembering Mike, sharing stories and thoughts, and developing a stronger bond between them in the process.
Kaz, another neurology resident and I went to his house on Tuesday evening. We were worried about his wife - we weren't sure if her family had flown in yet and didn't want her to feel alone. She wasn't there but her parents and two other people I'm guessing were her friends were. Her parents are such warm people, welcoming and grateful even in the midst of their loss, and they obviously loved Mike as their own son. We feebly attempted to comfort each other. We left some food but I took something more valuable - a thought that R's mom had shared that is perfectly appropriate in this case - sometimes a person's soul is just so full of energy and power the body just can't contain it any longer.
We went to the site yesterday to leave flowers. I think these acts of mourning are half about remembering the person and half selfish, things we do to help ourselves come to terms with the loss. It's definitely been good for Kaz to be a part of all this; I'm glad he cut his vacation short to be here. The service is tomorrow morning.
I hope R is doing as well as can be hoped. I think about her every day. | | |
| On Saturday, I was celebrating the marriage of one of my oldest friends.
Two days later I am mourning the loss of one of Kaz' closest work friends.
How can life change so instantaneously?
http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_093132812.html
Mike was the one in the car. Driving home, post-call. Fifteen feet forward or backward and I'd probably be writing a very different blog.
I heard about the accident this afternoon and said, "wow, that's awful," thought about it for a few more seconds and then went on with my day. I didn't think about it again until Kaz called me three hours ago and connected me to one of the victims. Suddenly I'm obsessed, scouring the internet for every article, every picture, TiVo-ing every newscast. The first newscast I caught toward the end. They did an update on the story, and then immediately afterward started talking about Madonna doing a concert in Boston this summer. I was appalled, "who the hell cares about fricken Madonna?! Mike just died, how can they talk about such trivial things?!" I then realized the ridiculousness of my rationale, expecting the whole world to halt because someone I knew died, when I was guilty of the exact same act earlier today when they were nameless, faceless victims. It's all relative. In that instant I truly understood the meaning of the saying "life goes on."
I didn't know Mike well, he spent Thanksgiving with us two years ago and another time we had a double date at his place where we made sushi. Kaz was close to him since he saw him almost every day at work. Last week while we were vacationing in Hawaii he emailed Mike to try to convince him to move to Hawaii and start a practice with him. In Mike's most recent email to Kaz just three days ago, he talked about how their work field exposes them to the reality of death and that death is non-descriminatory, any one can die at any time. And because of that he didn't want to go into a specialty that would suck up all his time, he wanted to live life and travel and start a family.
Mike was such a great and talented guy, intelligent but not at all arrogant, on top of his field, patents on various inventions, an incredible pianist who performed at the Vatican and won many competitions, published articles in medicine, and the list goes on. He was one of those special people who was on a whole other playing field from the rest of us, yet down to earth and one of the nicest people you'd ever meet. One of those people you knew was going to make a noise that would matter. The world will sorely miss him.
His wife, I can't stop thinking about his wife. I barely knew him and I can't sleep. She will have to rethink her entire life. They just bought a house last year, and were planning on starting a family in a year or two. I want to do something to help her, I feel like driving to her house right now to give her a hug and some company but I feel like I'd be intruding. Don't even have her number. Still deciding on what would be an appropriate action. I hope she finds the strength she needs.
Kaz was supposed to stay in LA until Thursday but he's already on a plane and will be back in the morning. There's going to be a department conference at the hospital tomorrow, and I'm sure later on there will be a service. It'll be good for Kaz to be a part of all that, and go through the mourning with his other work friends, and feel involved.
I was planning on writing about my vacation when I got back, but now I feel guilty even thinking about something as trivial as that.
Life goes on.
Or rather, carpe diem. | | |
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