If I were not upon the sea...

So I'm in an airport in Quebec, sipping some Tim Horton's and thinking how great it will be to be in my own bed tonight and how little time I'll actually have at home this time. It's sad but I'm torn between my home being where my condo is and wherever a certain Australian is in the world, so there's a little bit of homesick in either direction.

The news of the day? Well, I'm working on a completely redone version of my first CD, The Hardest Part of Love. It will become my third CD - or second, as we will then ignore the fact that the first ever existed, much like they do with so many superhero movie franchises. The track list will be much the same with a few tweaks, based on what people have asked for. Details to come, but I think it's worth destroying your old copy in favor of a new one. In fact, if you bought the old one back in 2007, I'll do my best to give you the new one at (my) cost. That's how much more confident I am in it. Again, details to come.

In other news, I'm about to embark on a whole new adventure working and living in Macau... It's a swiftly emerging entertainment market and there is ample opportunity there to get in on the ground floor of a very good thing. I haven't mentioned much about this as I hate to jinx things, and while I will say more in time that's all you get for now. I leave for Macau in mid-October, and will be there for at least six months to begin with. Could be more, we shall see.

And now, to the point: for years, this blog was called "Truthpumping," which is an obscure reference to a satirical acting text/memoir called "I, An Actor" by the fictitious Nicholas Craig. Since I began making my living primarily from ships, at some point I changed it to the current title as a reference to... Well, I don't need to explain that reference, it isn't obscure. What I'd like now are suggestions for a new title for this blog, as things turn in another direction...

And now, vacation.

Location:Rue Principale,Quebec,Canada

Donald Conrad

On Wednesday evening, September 14, my grandfather Donald Conrad left this life to be with his greatest love, Doris. Whatever happens after this life, I know he's there with Mimi and they're both happier for it. Poppa gave so much to all of us and never really desired nor accepted credit for it. This meant that, I think, we all took his generosity a bit for granted at times. We probably took him for granted at times, generally, but I hope he knew we all loved him very much and that the love he and Mimi shared is an example of how I want to live.

If you want to honor him, raise a terrible beer (Budweiser, Coors, or Olympia if you can find it) and remember a man who worked hard all his life and loved another person so completely that you could still feel the hurt of his loss whenever you were in his presence, years later.

Mimi passed away in 2003 and he desperately missed her. He was sure he'd go soon, to follow on her heels, and kept up the talk about how he was just waiting around. I remember in 2007 when I was in Kansas for a bit and spending a good bit of time with him, he would send me out shopping for him to buy things he didn't need. We were reading the Sunday paper once and he saw a laptop special in the Best Buy ad and decided he needed a new computer. He asked me what he should get and then picked a better one. I said, "That's good, but you don't really need all that. This cheaper one would be more than enough for you."

He shook his head and matter of factly said, "Well, I won't use it much and I want whoever winds up getting it after I'm gone to have a good one."

Poppa, I love you, but that was bloody depressing.

Goodbye, Poppa. I know Mom read you my letter, I hope you understood I wish I could've been there. I meant every word, and I don't think I want that laptop. It's out of date, by now, anyway. :)


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