An Unexpected Passing

Hi, everyone. I’m still on my day job business trip, but I needed to write something.

You may remember me mentioning my cousin Kenny in my article about Uncle Al’s autograph. He was my favorite of all of my cousins; he lived with our family for a while after Uncle Al died. He played accordion, which was fun when I played violin. About half of my little girlfriends had a crush on him; he was a high school boy who treated us with respect and like our thoughts were worth hearing. We could talk about just about anything, and when I was facing a challenging time as a young adult, he was always there on the other end of the phone to talk. At one point in his life, he was a police officer in Wheatland, Calif. At another point, he managed a bowling alley. He became a gifted wildlife photographer, and at some point I’ll share some photos.

Kenny died unexpectedly yesterday afternoon, after being admitted to the hospital. I think he was only 7 or 8 years older than me. I’ll admit I’m only just processing it.

Kenny was an avid bowler … and I am fairly atrocious. Our group went out bowling tonight, and I like to think that Kenny was chuckling when I was not so great, and cheered when I made my one-and-only strike or picked up the spare.

When Kenny lived with us, he often listened to this record. For years, every time I’ve heard it I have thought of him. This is Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s “Lucky Man,” in honor of Kenneth Paul Fretz.