[jims69camaro]

it's been a long time since anyone in my family has died. my sis was only a year and a coupla months older than me. she died after a 7 month battle with cancer. it was in her chest, and too close to her heart to operate on, and i guess the chemotherapy wasn't strong enough.

she was always my "older sister", and always looked out for me when i was younger. then when i was a little older, like 12 or so, things changed around a little bit and i got to look out for her. there was always sibling rivalry between us; she was jealous that schoolwork came so easy to me and she had to work hard to get the same grades i did (all As).

things changed about 15 or so years ago, and we grew apart. i probably haven't talked to her in over a year, so i had no idea that she was in this death-battle. she had some problems later in life, and she almost ended up in jail more than once because she couldn't control her drinking.

she died tuesday morning. there were some communication problems, which is why i didn't find out until today. she will be interred in florida, where she has been living for the last 10 years or so. i won't be able to attend the services because of how late the word got to me.

in the end, of course, i can't hold anything against her. i loved her, not only because she was my sister, but because she truly cared about me and what was going on in my life. no, she didn't always do the right thing, but which of us does?

anyway, to say the least, i've been a little sad today.