Lorem Ipsum

I know that death is natural and a part of the great circle of life and all that, but it still sucks. I'm inclined to agree with Dylan Thomas: "Old age should burn and rave at close of day."

My grandfather's in the hospital. He turned 90 earlier this year, so it's not entirely unexpected that he should be ailing. He's had various medical problems for a while now; rumors of his infirmity have been exaggerated in the past.

But this time my father said if I want to see Grandpa, I should probably come up now.

So I'm flying up to Tacoma for the weekend, in a couple hours. I'm a little muddled. Not sure where I'm staying, or even where the hospital is. (I have the hospital's number now, though, so I'll call and get directions.)

In case anyone was wondering, bereavement fares (at least on Alaska) are only for after the person dies. Unsurprisingly. At which point you provide the airline with a copy of the death certificate and/or a letter from the funeral home, and they refund half your ticket price. It all seems kinda mercenary. Though I'm sure I would appreciate it if the fare were big enough to be a problem.

I'll be back Sunday night if all's well. If things don't go well, there's no fee to change the flight, so I'll be back later. I'll probably be offline most of the time I'm gone.

I'm trying to think of this as a saying-goodbye trip; letting go, if necessary. But I don't like goodbyes much either.

More when I know more.