Beyond the Black Hole

R.I.P. Dirk --- Dec. 22, 2003 - Apr. 14, 2004

It is a sad day today. I have to go to the service for a friend of mine, Dirk. It seems Dirk met with a tragic accident. According to the information I received from his brother, Jake, Dirk had discovered a very nice piece of cheese wedged into a crevice. I fondly recall Dirk and remember that he was a very agile fellow and quite deft at manual manipulation. Witnesses say that he was doing quite well in extracting that piece of cheese from the crevice when a large metal crashed into the back of his neck from above. It snapped instantly, and those in attendance said he felt no pain. The investigators said it was a too frequently occurring accident and that the Mouse Council had been attempting to discover the cause of such for more generations that most could remember. I recall having been warned as a pip about extracting cheese from crevices and instantly appearing metal bars. I suspect that the Mouse Council is applying its regular level of effort into looking for the root cause of these types of accidents: They mouth their concern and make promises that they are doing something about it whenever anyone asks, but, in actually, they are doing nothing.

_{UPDATE: The service was nice, as expected. It was well attended. At least one quarter of the hundreds of Dirk's closest relatives in the immediate area were present. In addition, there was an equal number of his closest friends. Thankfully the number of mice who mounted the podium to say a few words in his memory were few. I was asked to speak, but felt there were already a sufficient number of friends awaiting to do so. I graciously declined the opportunity. It had more to do with my fear of public speaking and generally shy nature. As is the custom in these events, there was to be cheese served afterward at Dirk's mother's house. Everyone tried to bring a bit so as to comfort the grieving family. I brought a bit of dried cheddar that I was able to pick from the remainder of that plate of nachos next to the dumpster behind El Chicos on my way to the after service festivities. Is "festivities" the correct word? Anyway, I am glad to be home.]}