Tom Bodett couldn't write a script like this...

My girlfriend's father died tonight. It was the most beautifully sad thing I have been witness to in a long time. I say it's beautiful because he had people around him that loved him dearly. Not because they were there when he cashed in his chips, but because people care that deeply. It's only sad when you have no one who loves you that much... like when you die alone and you don't have any family or friends.

There were a lot of tears in the last few days as the end was near. I only knew him for a short time, but I thought he was pretty damn righteous. Not a lot of words, but always depth with wit. He was a funny old jew. Actually, he wasn't old at all. He was cool. He was a chef and he cooked up a lot of good one liners. He was emotional too. So when they are holding his funeral, I'm wondering if he will be looking down at all the people who are crying. If he is, I suspect that he'd cry too, then quickly wipe away the tears, give a wry smile and say, "What, did somebody die? Seems like a funeral in here.... tough crowd..."

I wonder where he is and what he's doing now. Personally, I believe in reincarnation of some kind. I think people who have been in your life might come back as your neighbor's chihuahua. If not, I think their spirit is hovering around you somewhere. But who fucking knows? Maybe Billy Idol knows; maybe Yogi Berra knows; maybe when it's over, it's really over; maybe there's nothing! What if you totally get screwed over just like you do by the government? You know how God and government go hand in hand in America... fuck you when you're alive and fuck you when you're dead. Both outfits are purveryors of heaven and hell.

We can't really be sure what's next. It should be really fabulous after grinding it out on earth for so long. But maybe after you're gone, you get a crappy room where the toilet is broken, the sink drips all night, and it smells like mildew! It's not hell, but maybe it's torture and something you can laugh about later. People who report near-death experiences say that they see a bright light. So when you actually die, do you see God or actually go into the light? I'm just wondering if Dave is sitting on a piss-poor bed somewhere and he was tricked by the light... "I put 68 years in and you sent me to a fucking Motel 6! You could've at least upgraded me to the Super 8... I knew God was a Jew!"

"If you travel with
those who know you well
I can recommend
Stay at Love Hotel"

-- Neil Young