Monday, March 28, 2011
5 Stages of Grief in Games
I found this downloadable computer game that won a number of Indie game awards a while back. This game is called Solace, and it is a PC game that tries to not only provide a fun top-down shooting experience, but also to portray the 5 stages of grief through their use of art and music. I thought that this was a very interesting way of putting the 5 stages into a more artistic form, and for all who are interested in trying the game, the download link can be found on their website at http://solacegame.com/ . For those who either do not want to download the game, or are just not into video games, I still recommend watching the video on their home page to get an idea of what kind of work was put into creating this experience.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Ocean Reef Burials
A new-ish cremation memorial option is having your ashes incorporated into a permanent artifical reef. I find this particularly interesting because my great-uncle John Rybovich's ashes were incorporated into a cement mold "memorial reef" and lowered into the ocean. My uncle, a boat-builder, loved everything involving saltwater and was an early proponent for artificial reefs.
The website EternalReefs.com describes the history behind what they call "reef balls":
"Patented mold systems were developed to create reefs that closely mimic natural reef formations. Special design features were included to make it easy for sea life to attach and grow on these designed reef structures. An environmentally friendly concrete formula was developed that would be attractive to the microorganisms to make the new reefs, and reef balls were born.
In 1990, the Reef Ball Development Group and the Reef Ball Foundation completed the first Reef Ball project near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Since that time, there have been over 3,500 projects worldwide with more than 400,000 Reef Balls placed on the ocean floor. With years of documented history of stability and habitat development, Reef Balls have become the world standard for fisheries programs, coral restoration and habitat development projects."
In 1990, the Reef Ball Development Group and the Reef Ball Foundation completed the first Reef Ball project near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Since that time, there have been over 3,500 projects worldwide with more than 400,000 Reef Balls placed on the ocean floor. With years of documented history of stability and habitat development, Reef Balls have become the world standard for fisheries programs, coral restoration and habitat development projects."
(Eternal Reefs, INC)
My uncle's reef has been listed under South Florida Dive Sites and Palm Beach County Wrecks since October 7, 1999.
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| "eternal reef" supporting life |
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Frank Buckles
A big headline recently was the death of Frank Buckles on February 27th, 2011. He was the last living American veteran of World War I. He was 110 years old when he passed away. He had previously been awarded the World War I Victory Medal and the Army of Occupation of Germany medal.
This death is a humbling one as it reminds us of the lives lost in wars fought for our country, and brings to light the fact that we still have young soldiers fighting in foreign areas for us today.
Frank had what we can deem a full life. He was married in 1946, and had a daughter in 1955. He was a farmer throughout his retirement and became an Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation.
From not knowing him personally, I would like to infer that he had a fulfilled life and ultimately found a "good death". It's by my definition also that those soldiers we have today, fighting for our freedoms are heroes. Their bravery is inspiring and if they are killed fighting for our nation's people, then it should be considered a "good death" and I owe them my humblest gratitude.
This death is a humbling one as it reminds us of the lives lost in wars fought for our country, and brings to light the fact that we still have young soldiers fighting in foreign areas for us today.
Frank had what we can deem a full life. He was married in 1946, and had a daughter in 1955. He was a farmer throughout his retirement and became an Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation.
From not knowing him personally, I would like to infer that he had a fulfilled life and ultimately found a "good death". It's by my definition also that those soldiers we have today, fighting for our freedoms are heroes. Their bravery is inspiring and if they are killed fighting for our nation's people, then it should be considered a "good death" and I owe them my humblest gratitude.
How death started
This is a funny explanation for how death started. Its from a movie called Dead Like Me. I saw it on T.V. the other day and immediately thought of our class, and how things like death might be explained to a younger crowd. Its part 1 of the whole movie that is 10 minutes long, but the part I am referring to is from the start til' about 1:30 in. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4u6zw7QaWw
Love in the Time of Cholera
I wanted to post this insightful quote from the book Love in the Time of Cholera.
"Age has no reality except in our physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom."
I had a recent birthday and thought to myself . . damn I am old! But I thought about it some more, and considered the notion that age does not have much bearing on "essence" and "spirit". Even though the physical world is the most obvious and alot of times the most prominent part of life, there are other aspects that may be more important.
The other part(next sentence) of the quote I left out because its relation to death and dying is not as direct. But its nice, so here it is "Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself."
Monday, March 14, 2011
Death of an FGCU student
I'm sure everyone has recieved the email stating that another FGCU student has died in a car accident. He was accompanied by 3 other people and I'm sure that they were all friends. Although I had never met him, I'm sure we all have sympathy for Andrew Monroe, as well as his friends and family and they will remain in our prayers for days to come. It is sad to think that such a young life can be ended in the blink of an eye and for no apparent reason, which is why we should always be prepared to experience unexpected tragedy.
Touched by an Angel
Not many people are lucky enough to be touched by an angel, but I got to spend 3 short years with an amazing friend, sister, and angel. This angel was my first friend in my organzation. She taught me how to break out of my shell and make friends. She always tried her hardest to include me in everything that she did from events to just movie nights with the girls. She made me fall in love with my organization.
Although, we grew apart for a while, when I saw her at events or just walking through the hall we would stop and catch up. This would always make us late to class. She was there for me when I was going through hard times. She held my hand when we went out, she could tell just by looking at me that I was going to cry. I never thanked her for being there for me, for being strong for me. Now it is my turn to be strong for her.
The hardest thing to hear is that someone has past away, but when the person is still so young and has everything going for them makes everything harder. Days before she passed I spent a lot of time with her, enjoying time with the girls. From seeing her the last few days, I knew she was happy with her life, she even said that she had everything that she could ever want.
I didn't know if I could write about this amazing person and as I write this I still find it hard to get all my thoughts out. I look at Facebook and see pictures of her and people writing on her wall and I feel like she is still here. It is so unreal to me that this angel was taken from us so early. I still feel like I will see her at events, meetings , or at girls's houses. All I know is that she made me want to be a better person. I can truly say I was touched by an angel.
Although, we grew apart for a while, when I saw her at events or just walking through the hall we would stop and catch up. This would always make us late to class. She was there for me when I was going through hard times. She held my hand when we went out, she could tell just by looking at me that I was going to cry. I never thanked her for being there for me, for being strong for me. Now it is my turn to be strong for her.
The hardest thing to hear is that someone has past away, but when the person is still so young and has everything going for them makes everything harder. Days before she passed I spent a lot of time with her, enjoying time with the girls. From seeing her the last few days, I knew she was happy with her life, she even said that she had everything that she could ever want.
I didn't know if I could write about this amazing person and as I write this I still find it hard to get all my thoughts out. I look at Facebook and see pictures of her and people writing on her wall and I feel like she is still here. It is so unreal to me that this angel was taken from us so early. I still feel like I will see her at events, meetings , or at girls's houses. All I know is that she made me want to be a better person. I can truly say I was touched by an angel.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Better off Dead
Death is usually looked upon as a bad thing. The term I would be better off dead is widely used but rarely do we think it is the case. In the movie Gladiator Maximus the main character goes from a general, to a slave, to a gladiator who becomes a voice more powerful than the empire. He achieves this by sending others to the grave in battle, and in certain cases by refusing to send them to the grave when told to do so by the king who would either give a "thumbs up" or thumbs down". I think the interesting part is that Maximus gained more respect by not taking someones life when told to do so, rather than taking a life. By respecting someone elses life I think he earned the respect of others to respect his life. In the movie his son and wife are murdered, towards the end of the movie he gets wounded in an epic battle. He defeats his opponent but suffers battle wounds which to me seemed as though he could recover from them. After the battle he falls to his knees and has flashbacks of his wife and son. In his visions he was being reunited with his family. It seemed to me that he had given up the will to live and was better off dead, because by dying he would be reunited with his family.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Corrina, Corrina- my version
I can still picture her face to this day. She had short golden hair, with blue eyes like mine. She had a smile that would melt anger, and a heart that could warm a room. She was a beauty queen of the 40’s, a WWII housewife, and mother of four very different girls. Her name was Margaret. She was my grandmother, and she really was beautiful.
She died a month before I turned four, and four months before my oldest sister’s wedding. She was healthy one day, and the next day in a diabetic coma. After a day in a coma, she woke to say goodbye, telling everyone that her sister Rita was there to travel with her. Rita had died at age 30, three decades before, of a brain aneurysm. Grandma told Grandpa that he needed to make sure her bag was packed for the trip. Grandma Marge’s death came so quickly that my family was left in shock and chaos.
I remember sitting on the family room couch of my Ohio home, in 1991, with my mother. I remember her tears and cries were filled with such immense pain, that a four year old would obviously not understand. I asked her if I should cry to. Mommy said, “ You can cry if you feel like it.” I didn’t. Grandma’s funeral was calm and quiet, from what I remember. Two of my cousins, both four and five years old, and I walked up to her casket alone to say goodbye. They both gave her kisses and talked to her. I was the quiet one. I was too afraid to say goodbye, because I really did not know what that meant. As a child, I did not understand why she left us.
Not long after the funeral, my mother and I began visiting my grandparents house. Grandpa had begun to drown himself in the Masonic Lodge and his lumber business, so the house stood without life. Mommy and I would walk into the house, loudly yelling upstairs, “Hello Grandma! We’re here!” Believe it or not, that comforted me knowing that she was still with us, only in a different way. Her brush was in the same place, her perfume bottles went untouched, and her clothes still had her smell lingering on them. Mom and I would open her closets and take handfuls of dresses and press them to our noses. It may sound odd, but we loved her that much.
Not long ago, Professor Cox mentioned something about how childhood grief can come back and hit you in adulthood. Well, this past year, I was slapped with an overwhelming sense of grief. Everything I write about, is about her or the things she loved most- butterflies.
My mother eventually introduced me to Corrina, Corrina at a young age. I sympathized with Molly. I even went through a similar grief process that she went through. To this day, I still try to blow out the red lights. In a way, I sound crazy, but really, it is just something that has comforted me and help me cope with things that I learned at a very young age.
I’m sorry I wrote “a book”. I could go on and on, but I know it may be too much for a blog. If you have any similar stories that you could share, that would be great. Are you dealing with repressed childhood grief like I am?
She died a month before I turned four, and four months before my oldest sister’s wedding. She was healthy one day, and the next day in a diabetic coma. After a day in a coma, she woke to say goodbye, telling everyone that her sister Rita was there to travel with her. Rita had died at age 30, three decades before, of a brain aneurysm. Grandma told Grandpa that he needed to make sure her bag was packed for the trip. Grandma Marge’s death came so quickly that my family was left in shock and chaos.
I remember sitting on the family room couch of my Ohio home, in 1991, with my mother. I remember her tears and cries were filled with such immense pain, that a four year old would obviously not understand. I asked her if I should cry to. Mommy said, “ You can cry if you feel like it.” I didn’t. Grandma’s funeral was calm and quiet, from what I remember. Two of my cousins, both four and five years old, and I walked up to her casket alone to say goodbye. They both gave her kisses and talked to her. I was the quiet one. I was too afraid to say goodbye, because I really did not know what that meant. As a child, I did not understand why she left us.
Not long after the funeral, my mother and I began visiting my grandparents house. Grandpa had begun to drown himself in the Masonic Lodge and his lumber business, so the house stood without life. Mommy and I would walk into the house, loudly yelling upstairs, “Hello Grandma! We’re here!” Believe it or not, that comforted me knowing that she was still with us, only in a different way. Her brush was in the same place, her perfume bottles went untouched, and her clothes still had her smell lingering on them. Mom and I would open her closets and take handfuls of dresses and press them to our noses. It may sound odd, but we loved her that much.
Not long ago, Professor Cox mentioned something about how childhood grief can come back and hit you in adulthood. Well, this past year, I was slapped with an overwhelming sense of grief. Everything I write about, is about her or the things she loved most- butterflies.
My mother eventually introduced me to Corrina, Corrina at a young age. I sympathized with Molly. I even went through a similar grief process that she went through. To this day, I still try to blow out the red lights. In a way, I sound crazy, but really, it is just something that has comforted me and help me cope with things that I learned at a very young age.
I’m sorry I wrote “a book”. I could go on and on, but I know it may be too much for a blog. If you have any similar stories that you could share, that would be great. Are you dealing with repressed childhood grief like I am?
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