Getting back to normal

We have settled back down to our routines around here. It has really been a long 2 weeks. As I said before... I don't really have a comment for the blog on what happened. It was freakishly bizarre. Honestly, none of this fully struck me until we had the service at the church. We (Ang, Dan and I) had gone down to Kentucky to collect personal items at the house the weekend after it all happened. I really hardened up my mind not to think about it while I was there. It worked so well that I had bottled myself up till that day at church. It is hard to let go of someone like my Grandfather. He was a wonderful soul, and his passing really does make you believe that there must be a better place. He was the greatest.

M. Dan Fugate

M. Dan FugateDANVILLE, Ky. -- Marion Dan Fugate, 76, of Danville, Ky., and formerly of Fairbury, died Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, at his residence. His funeral will be Friday at the First United Presbyterian Church, Fairbury. Cremation rites were accorded. Burial will be in Avoca Cemetery, rural Fairbury. Friends may call one hour prior to the service Friday at the church. Preston-Pruitt Funeral Home, Danville, Ky., has charge of arrangements. He was born April 14, 1929, at Fairbury, the son of Marion Dan and Ogarita (Shepherd) Fugate. He married Marie (Giancarli) Stahl. He later married Shirley Henrich. Surviving are three daughters, Sylvia (Joe) Penrod, Bloomington, Julie (Tim) Rathbun, Pekin, and Carla (Mike) Murray, Fort Myers, Fla.; three stepchildren; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. ************************************************************ Today we went to services for Grandpa Dan. They were wonderful, if you can believe such a thing. The Presbyterian Church in Fairbury did an phenomenal job, the Priest-Minister-Pastor guy really got to know Dan through his conversations with the family. I think he gave the sermon to Mom, I will see if I can get that. I still don't have a whole lot to say about any of this, below is the article that was in the Danville paper. It is not 100% accurate, but I am not going to go and edit it. It all ends the same way. Its hard to say if I will really place all my comments here, I have some strong feelings about all of this, but I don't really like to use the site to drag out family laundry. I may have to let it rest where it may. I am going to update a page with all my great photos of Grandpa Dan. Official Article on the deaths, used without permission

M. Dan Fugate passes away

Crazy stuff going on here. And you can take that very literal right now. Somber news. Grandpa Dan and Grandma Shirley passed away this past week. I am not even going to get into any of the details right now. When I feel I can explain what happened with any certainty... I will. As Sylvia Penrod so correctly stated, "It would not be our family if it were ever normal.". Is that the truth or what? I just returned from Kentucky tonight. Ang, Dan and I went down to retrieve some family heirlooms and some of Grandpa's wood creations. It was stressful, and could possibly be my last trip to Danville ever. It was a bad feeling all around. Memorial service for the Fugate's will be in Fairbury on Friday. Hard to say what all will be done. I don't even know if we are having a visitation at this point! Don and other family members will be making their way to Illinois over the next week. More news and info as I have it.

Gas Prices

OK, I said I would comeback and make some notes about current crisis... The gas price thing. First off, is this really that surprising? Isn't it hard to believe that we have been riding around this country with an ever increasing amount of SUV's, Light and Super Duty trucks for the past decade with no major supply issues? I am in awe every time I see a redneck jumping on the gas in his 1981 Ford F150 with Super Swampers on it. I think, "Am I alone in wondering if he really likes pumping gas at 3.50 a gallon into a vehicle that gets 7 to 8 mpg?" Haven't we all been joking that Ms. Soccer Mom does not really need a big block V8 Chevy Suburban to take the kids to school? Do you really need 4X4 if you live in town? I would say that now is the beginning of the Death of America's Love Affair with the Automobile. I believe that the same fuel shortage-pricing issues that created the small car market in the 70's are going to totally change the way we buy cars in the future. No longer are people laughing at the thought of driving a small car. No longer are we looking at that Hybrid car owner as a freak. No longer can you say that you are not affected by higher fuel prices. If you own a car, everyone of you in the past month has thought, "I don't need to run across town for that widget, I don't want to waste gas, I will wait till I have another trip to make." Its true, admit it. I don't think this is going away either. I would predict that all emerging economies around the globe will be using more and more fuel as their citizens become wealthier. China, India, Brazil... All these countries have lots of potential for using more petroleum. One advantage they have... They have never known a world where everyone has a V8 truck in the garage. These countries already use much smaller cars with 4 cylinders and turbo diesels. Potentially, they may not be crippled as hard as the US by a fuel price increase. The same goes for Europe. Those people already pay 4.00 a gallon! You can perceive yourself as cool and continue to drive that gas guzzler, and in time, I believe it will become an elitist symbol again. But we all know that you pay the same for gas as we do... You may as well be lighting your cigars with 20.00 bills. Its wasteful either way. I would rather you light the cigars, you make the dollar stronger by wasting them. For the record, we have 3 cars that are drivable at the ranch right now. (VW is in the shop, and then being sold) 1998 Avalon - 30 Miles per gallon average - Used daily to get me to work and drop the kids off. 1997 Celica - Over 30 mpg - Used 2 days a week in Ang's carpool to work. 2001 Tundra V8 4x4 - 17mpg - Not driven daily anymore. Once gas broke 2.20 on a regular basis... I stopped driving it. It has sat idle for 3 weeks. Ang took it to Panther Creek State Park with the Horses this past weekend. It took nearly 80.00 to fill. Yikes! That does change your lifestyle! At this point, I hate filling up my Cub Cadet mower. 15.00 for a yard to get mowed! Also, do not be fooled into thinking that just your fuel bill at the pump is higher. Sooner than later, everything you buy at the store, online or through mail order is going to cost more. Everyone pays higher gas. Wal-Mart, Target, Amazon and Fed-Ex. Its coming. Boy, this is not really a Republican stance is it? Sounds like I am a member of the Green Party... No way! I am a realist. I am aware of the world. We have had it really good, and I think we take it for granted in this country, just like everything else. I wonder if we will let oil rigs move closer to shore in the Gulf of Mexico now... Will we protest so hard when the Alaskan Wildlife refuge is mentioned as a potential for fuel? I never did. I am and was all for it. Why is it OK to contaminate other parts of the world for our wealth, but we have the gall to say "Not on our land"? Are we that out of touch? The future? I think we will all be chomping at the bit to buy a hydrogen car in 10 to 15 years. We will have to be. By that time, the other countries that I mentioned above will be using so much oil that we will be begging for an alternative. Gas cars will become like cars that take "Leaded" gas. A thing of the past. Phased out. I will comment on Katrina later this week.

Note from Don on the Road

I have been a complete looser about updating the news here. I have been updating photos all over the place. If you had not noticed. We have had some busy weekends!. I will post a bunch of catch-up stuff here later. Also, I do have some thoughts about Gas prices and New Orleans that I will try to make into a coherent couple of paragraphs. Look out for that. The digital weekend continues on the home page. Look for the Delavan Fall festival parade today. An email from Don: Notes from the road: Opening for Big Head Todd and the Monsters was awesome. They're a really good band! And nice guys too! Played a really great blues fest here in Des Moines tonight. It was us, John Lee Hooker Jr., and Tommy Castro. People flipped. It was good for the ego... Weather has been great. Nice to be out of the humidity for awhile. The misery of New Orleans and Mississippi has been on my mind a lot and heavily. Those poor people. Not the ones stealing tv's and raping women. The other people. Can't imagine what it must be like. Called Anna and told her to box up EVERY piece of clothing we're not wearing and take it to the Red Cross. It's the least we can do. Wondering how we're going to get home after the tour is over as I-10 is pretty much not happening. The last two shows are in Corpus Christi TX.... Going to Colorado again tomorrow. Always a pleasure and a treat. One of these days I'm gonna pack my bags...... And I'm SERIOUS..... Drunk on Peppermint schnapps and gotta go. See ya! D.