My Neighbor Died Today

My neighbor died today. His name was Mr. Jack. He was a nice guy.

I used to see Mr. Jack outside all the time. We’d wave and be pleasant to each other. I never got to know him too much beyond that, but he was a good neighbor. Over the past few months, I noticed that he was never outside anymore, and there was a lot more family visiting him and his wife Mrs. Jack. I mentioned to my wife that I thought maybe Mr. Jack wasn’t doing well. As it turns out, I was right.

Me and my wife were outside this morning when they carried his body out of the house. It was just coincidence that we were out there. I’ve never seen what happens when you die. I was honestly a little shook up by the sight of two guys in black suits pushing the gurney.

I can be a real a-hole sometimes, and I do enjoy busting balls whenever possible, but when somebody dies, I typically have nothing to say. I think it’s best to just keep quiet. Maybe it’s because I’m immature, or I’m afraid I’ll say something stupid and p*ss somebody off in their time of need. I don’t know. I don’t seem to handle the knowledge of mortality very well.

The last time I saw Mr. Jack was about a week ago. He was in a wheelchair and using a respirator. I know he was a smoker. I don’t know if that’s what took his life though. The whole thing reminded me of my Great Grandmother. We called her “Nanny”.

Nan was a HEAVY smoker and ended up with emphysema before she died. She would take off her oxygen mask when she needed a smoke. Even as a young kid, I knew she was killing herself. It was sorta hard to watch her. When she died, I cried for a few days. Writing about it now, I still get a little upset about it. She was a crazy old lady, and I miss her.

Mr. Jack was a nice man. He marched in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade every year. He used to be a firefighter. He was a great neighbor. Goodbye Mr. Jack. I hardly knew you, but you’ll be missed.

The Official 2006 C. Dowd X-Mas Card

Well, here it is! The OFFICIAL 2006 C. Dowd promotional X-Mas card! It was done the old fashioned way with paper and pencil. I scanned it into the ol’ laptop and colored it with Painter. The graphic stuff was done in the highly underated Fireworks program. Click the image to enlarge.

Enjoy. Oh, and have a very merry X-Mas!