Here comes March

Of course it's great when March arrives, as the weather finally starts to do an about face. St. Patrick's Day, now being marketed as St. Patrick's Season by greedy beer merchants, is just a few weeks away.
Perhaps in another 5 or 10 years....no... March 21st will never stop haunting me. Even the folks at Fullerton Funeral Home in Baldwin, NY, were dumbstruck when I told them Ken passed away on the same day as dad. I assumed that having run the funeral home for so many years, they had heard of such 'coincidences' before. It wasn't coincidence, though. Ken simply decided to die that day.
I forgot to tell them that he lived only 19 days longer than mom. (if you take away the last 2 weeks of her life when she was in a coma, then their life spans were identical) If I had reminded them of her, they would have remembered her, as her wake was at Fullerton, too. I had to chase the paparazzi off the steps of St. Christopher's next door.
Perhaps I was distracted by Mr. Fullerton's fate, as I sat down with him in December, but suddenly died before my second visit a few weeks later...
I wasn't totally surprised once Ken had survived to March. I actually expected it. He was a human time keeping machine, always keenly aware of its passing. He loved watches and time pieces of all kinds. Clocks and watches (mantle clocks, clock radios, diving watches) were given as Xmas gifts. He would often stare at the hands on his watch moving, feeling mystified, disturbed, perhaps terrified. He bought himself one of those Pierce Brosnan diving watches, being a huge 007 fan as well as a passionate diver. (Why do you think he majored in Russian and diving? Thunderball!)
It also made him very grateful for every day. After years of despising the winter months, he changed enough to advise me, "Never wish away time."
March 21st, the Vernal Equinox, the last day of winter, the first day of spring, sunrise at the North Pole, sunset at the South Pole...swiftly flow the years...
The season is already known as the cruelest since it "mixes memory with desire". How much more bittersweet now.

Finally

Dear friends of Ken Wicht,

It will soon be 2 years since Ken's passing. I had planned on this blog being up a year ago, but there was more to deal with than I had imagined. I had to make numerous trips to Freeport, Long Island, to deal with what was left of Ken's material life, as there is no one in the family left on Long Island to help out.

I invite anyone, especially those who knew Ken personally, to blog here, and/or e-mail photos that I will upload. If you have prints, I can scan and return them within a few days.

There are many more pix to come. Most need to be scanned from slides or prints and formatted, which is time consuming. Please bear with me as Ken's blog develops. In the meantime, click on the 'Ken's photos' (PICASA) link (upper right) to view what I have uploaded so far.

There is so much to write about Ken: from his love of language (fluent in Russian and Spanish) and words, to his great photography; from becoming a Master Diver and cave diver, to our travels together; from his becoming a pilot, to his stint in the Air Force; from his in-depth knowledge of the Civil War, to his love of music (oldies to classical and jazz), not to mention his encyclopedic knowledge and love of baseball, Ken wasted little time.

When you learn the daunting background he had to endure to live this much, you will agree with Ken's Russian auto mechanic who said to me, "Somebody should write a book about that guy." Hopefully this blog will emerge as a reasonable and loving facsimile.

Thanks,
Paul