• James William Kauffman (1942 – 2021)

    Dad slipped away quietly yesterday afternoon. Christy and I held his hands as he went.
    He left with much more dignity than life afforded him in these last twelve months. His inability to find the right words for speech largely became an inability to speak. He went from walking to walker to wheelchair seemingly with haste. Six months ago he still fought the limitations which both grew in number and remained undefeated. He couldn’t tell us explicitly, but he seemed resigned… ready to go. So when an infection quickly began to overwhelm yesterday…

    We let him.

    There are moments when I find comfort in this. My mind tells me it was the right thing to do, but my heart feels pulped, and I struggle to accept I now live in a world that no longer has my father in it.

  • A good time to stay in school

    Dad! I got into grad school! Wait. Dad?

    “I sensed a great disturbance….” (sitting unsteadily)

    Dad?!?

    “It was as if tens of thousands of dollars suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.”

  • If the economy could speak

    The Guardian:

    The US economy shrank by 32.9% between April and June, its sharpest contraction since the second world war, government figures revealed on Thursday, as more signs emerged of the coronavirus pandemic’s heavy toll on the country’s economy.
    The record-setting quarterly fall in economic growth came as another 1.43 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits, a second week of rises after a four-month decline.
    The annualized figure is the largest drop in quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) – the broadest measure of the economy – since records began in 1945.

    The U.S. Economy:

    Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit unemployment benefits