He's Dead Jim...

I know these things are supposed to happen in threes but maybe the Myans were right and the world really is coming to an end soon...they were just off by a three years? What is going on?! Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, that guy from the Kung Fu movies, and now...BILLY MAYS?! I am at a loss for words which, we all know, very rarely happens. I believe this has to do with me going to Rochester, Minnesota. The last three times I have been, something has died no matter how short or long my visit is. The first Summer, I arrived in early June for Nisswasammen, a folk dance festival in northern Minnesota. The day after we reach the music festival, my aunt receives a phone call from the kitty hotel notifying her that her cat has mysteriously died in her sleep and without an autopsy, they couldn't decipher the actual cause of death. Inky died of an incredibly rare disease completely unexpectedly. Once Inky was dead and (God rest her soul), on the mantel in a tin can; Mary was left with Max, the reason I hate cats. When I was three, Max decided I was in his territory, hunted me, and took me down with a swipe of his paw. Max was part of a Fat Cat study being organized by Purdue University in Indiana. On top of being obese, he was an amputee with only three legs and had an enlarged left ventricle. In early June again, I came to visit, this time I was going to be there for three months. Typically, Max and I were kept separate but ever since the amputation, I could finally run faster. Mary was out of town being trained in Feldenkrais Therapy when Max's breathing began to sound funny. I had taken Anatomy and Physiology with Mr. Comenda my Junior year of High School between these two summers and had dissected two cats-- not to mention I just had enough sense to know Max's breathing was due to fluid in his lungs. I called Mary and she told me to just take him into the kitty doctor and make the decisions. I had the vet tap Max's chest three times and on the third time, we decided to put Max to sleep and end the terror. I went from hating this cat to having Max snuggle up against me as tears were streaming down my face during his last breaths. I killed both of my aunt's cats within two years. That same summer, my dog that we have had since I was three passed away from another "mysterious disease" after coming to Minnesota for the summer with me. At that point, I realized that I should take a year off. No one died that year. This year on the other hand...

Michael Jackson
Farrah Fawcett
Billy Mays
That man from the Kung Fu movies (he died during some kinky sex game...now what have we learned?!)
Caroline Victoria Jenson (my great-aunt)
Dawn's aunt

They are all dead Jim, just dead.