Nancy and Eddie

 

I'm sitting here watching baseball. Don't run away. That's not what this is about (Wow, that hurts to write).

It's safe to say I'm sort of processing things. I'm processing the game, life, death, bills, and the cat attacking his various toys.

Meaghan (my niece) and Eric (her husband) shared their wedding video with us today and it's just gorgeous. It's their video so I won't share it here. Everyone has their own feeling of privacy and it's theirs to present.

However, I did take a screenshot of Mom in it, who is just glowing as she watches everything. Sean and I are standing nearby -- her usual sentry's (or partners in crime, as I think she called us).

The video was about as close to breaking me down as I've come. Seeing her in a couple of shots just tore at my soul. This wasn't even two months ago. It's not even seven weeks.

And yet, the image hurts. She's beaming -- no question -- but she's also hunched in that chair. Now not every moment of that trip was like that. Heck, she walked around Target that very morning, doing some shopping and was fine on her own as Sean and I went to get some things.

I don't know. I just don't.

The whole thing just ... well ... sorry ... it sucks.

Here are Nancy's "partners in crime" as we listened to the speeches at the wedding.

*****

You probably heard Eddie Van Halen died today. Now, I have to be fair. I was not the biggest Van Halen fan. At times I got a little tired of them, mostly because they're one of those bands that classic rock stations seem to reach for when they don't know what else to play.

And "Diamond Dave" was always basically a misogynistic turd who then left the band at their height to go be a solo artist, thus leaving us with "Van Hagar."

Which, by that point, was a pop band. Come on. Be fair.

I have nothing against Sammy, of course, but let's call it for what it is.

And let's leave poor Gary Cherone out of this.

But there's no question 1984 was a huge album in a huge year. "Jump" was as ubiquitous as "When Doves Cry" or "Thriller" but at least Van Halen was putting out rock.

Oh, yeah, there was an album called Sports around that time also and I'll take that over all of them.

But what Eddie did was help give Michael Jackson a moment where rock fans (me, though I loved good pop music also when the line was more vague between the two) could almost appreciate him.

Eddie Van Halen performing the solo on "Beat It" allowed non-Jackson fans to either wretch or acknowledge. 

He even showed up in Back to the Future (remember: Huey Lewis and the News was Marty McFly's favorite band), playing some "noise" on a cassette tape.

Plus Eddie just always looked happy to be playing. How could he screw it up? He was married to Valerie Bertinelli and it seemed like the all-American rock and roll party.

But, alas, things went astray as they often do.

It's a part of some formative years, and I certainly did blast 1984 a few times in sisters red Chevrolet Camaro.

The instrumental "1984" did sound pretty nice coming out of those speakers.

So while I'll never be confused with monster Van Halen fans, there was still a feeling of sadness when I heard that Eddie Van Halen had died.

It's a glance at mortality. I've seen a little too much of it lately.