We did visitation the old way.
Her body died at 2:15 AM. I texted Rhonda immediately, and in about ten minutes she was here.
After a while she went back home. At about 6:00 AM I did two blast messages, one to people from my phone, one from hers.
2. We told officialdom that we'd be keeping her for a few hours, and I invited those who were able, and wished, to come see her.
The country folk all came, the commercial farm family and the others, some from the Humane Society, some from the band, some here and there.
3. Everyone who came had stories of things Gloria had done for them, for their friends, for some animal - Gloria did for others. As a matter of course. That's what you do.
You don't ask for back. You do it because you can.
Gloria.
4. And all agreed that Gloria didn't change her mind on anybody's say so.
She might decide she'd been mistaken, change her own mind, but nobody else did it. Certainly not me.
5. When her friend F woke up to find her husband dead beside her, she called Gloria.
Before 911.
She came today.
She hasn't even known. It was such a whirlwind flight we couldn't get hold of her.
December 2nd. Diagnosis. Prognosis. Today.
6. I texted her out of Gloria's contacts. First notice, last goodbye.
Now the funeral home is here. She is going straight to the crematory.
By tomorrow her carbon will be in the atmosphere, her hydrogen, her life elements, and soon I will receive the rocks and metal as ashes.
7. There will be a memorial service at Todd's Chapel in Ray County, MO, between Excelsior Springs and Richmond, probably, as it looks today, on January 7th. This will be a Christian format service, with a long time personal friend of ours, a Methodist lay minister, officiating.
8. At some later date, probably influenced by the ebb and flow of pandemic from this day forward, we will have a band based, rock and roll, blues, country and western memorial at the VFW in Lexington, MO, and close the night with
G L O R I A Glo-o-o-ria!
I'll let you know.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
First time I tried to farm with animals I started with draft horses. My mistake.
We're so focused on high power. Even draft horses were too big, too fast, and required too much energy input to operate.
The tool defines the job.
This is me at 42.
2. I had this gut feeling that we'd fucked up when we went over to cars, trucks, and tractors, but I hadn't thought it through yet.
3. A guy offered me a good deal on a team of fuzzy mules about the size of my current team, but, oh, no, I had to have draft horses.
Permaculture had already been invented, but I hadn't crossed its path. Didn't know it existed. I was getting my info from the Extension Office.
I made an hour or more of donkey video today - probably way more, I haven't looked yet.
My friend Roger came over in the morning with a big plate of cold cuts and cheese, and stayed and visited a while. I always enjoy Roger's company, he's a restful soul, and we had a good mornin
2. Then I went up to hook up my girls.
Missy and Clara, American donkeys, same as a burro, not the same as a mule. Donkeys. Donks.
3. They haven't been hooked up since the beginning of the end, and they've been getting short shrift.
My donkeys are accustomed to daily attention, near-daily work in harness. They like it. They've gotten nervous and fidgety - there was death in the air.
He has been and gone.
We are at home in the little house. Nobody here but us.
Donkeys got their supper, with full attention.
Human attention is a priceless resource that we piss away on drivel.
2. There's an old saying: The eye of the farmer fattens the cow.
That's not how we do it anymore, we use antibiotics. I can't express what a shitty plan this is.
The eye of the human fattens the land. That's how we get out of climate change - we pay attention.
To reality.
3. All that crap people are promising "for the climate," that's not reality. That's science fiction. Most of the machines haven't been invented. It's madness. The reductions are in the out years and they always will be.
The problem with "degrowth" is that it's an idea, not action
Some huge percentage of Twitter is people having nasty squabbles, putting one another down, shitty little pissing contests...
People, it's bad for you. Having all that anger energy flow through you is bad for the health.
Ignore unwanted behavior, reward desired behavior. Training
Sharing Karen videos is bad for you. It's bad for the health.
Don't let poison into your mind, and however much slips in, don't entertain it. Don't spread it around.
Don't share climate articles about how fucked up things are. Anybody who ain't figured that out yet isn't worth talking to.
Share articles about slowing down. Share articles about urban farms and donkey power. Think about what *to* do rather than focusing all the time on what
My daughter and her husband were out today.
I never knew I had a daughter. All the parts were here for much of my life, but in her final act Gloria spun us all together in a web of magic and I have a daughter.
2. Long time readers know that I have, besides Gloria's farm where I live, another forty acres up by Rayville, about five or six miles away.
I have offered it for free to an intentional community.
We're building it.
Here.
There.
Now.
3. They're all around 30, plus or minus maybe five, I don't know for sure. The house goes to Hannah, all the rest are peripheral to that one fact.
Gloria's experiences with men weren't all positive. This is *her* farm. I stay here by her permission.
This house is going to Hannah.
So. She was desperate. She wanted to get up.
"Let me up."
"I don't know how, sweetheart. Your body is so broken. I don't know how."
"Let me up."
Morphine. Lorazepam.
"Let me up."
"I would, sweetheart. I don't know how."
"Let me up."
Morphine. Lorazepam. Benadryl.
"Let me up."
2. I asked her to let it go. Let her broken body go, fly away.
"Let me up."
"Sweetheart, I don't know how. Leave your body. Let your spirit get up without it. Fly, fly from here."
"Let me up."
"Speak to them on the other side. Ask them to let you up."
"You let me up."
"I don't...
3. ...know how."
Morphine. Lorazepam.
"Let me up."
Caress her face. Talk about what a success she is, how she has walked this whole road, reached this pinnacle...
"Let me up."
I turned her on her side. Knees toward me.
She moved her legs. Edge of the bed.
"Let me up."