Just a quick update on JR. His death was the talk of the town last night. There is a lot of speculation, but the evidence supports that the throat-slashing was self-inflicted. I can imagine it being a drunken impulse responding to some severe emotional stress. Reading his Facebook condolences was very touching. He served with the US Army all over the world, including Somalia, Bosnia, Germany, and Korea. He was well-respected by his subordinates. A good man has gone too soon for sure.
I dropped into It Doesn’t Matter. Bob, the owner, was best friends with JR. In fact, JR spent the last night of his life at IDM. There was definitely a sad vibe as folks came in to offer Bob their condolences. I left after two beers.
I decided to grab a bite to eat at John’s place. Went with the ribeye beef burger and onion rings. Also ordered some fish tacos and Korean chicken wings for the gals at my next stop, Hideaway Bar.
So, I made Joy and her friends at Hideaway happy by satiating their hunger and thirst. Well, it’s Saturday night, might as well pretend I’m a big spender.
My last stop of the evening was Alaska Club. It was just one other guy in the bar and me, and he was playing pool with the owner, Jerry. Since I’d blown my cash at Hideaway, I couldn’t treat the dancers to a drink, but I did give them each a fifty peso tip. It must be damn hard to stand up there and pretend to dance when you don’t have an audience.
I also met a new waitress at Alaska. Only 24 and very cute. During the course of our conversation, I learned that she is a cherry girl (virgin). Yeah, that’s not going to work. The funny thing (for me) was that her name is Karen. My first love and high school sweetheart was named Karen.
I teased my new friend that meeting her tonight must have been fate: Karen was my first love, and now I’d found a Karen to be my last love. Sadly, she wasn’t buying it.
I had a nice chat this morning with my high school Karen telling her about my fun with the new Karen I’d met. She got a kick out of that. We shared some laughs and memories about the long-ago night I’d taken her to Huntington Beach to see the submarine races. The back seat of my mom’s 1969 Plymouth Fury is where I made a woman out of her. Those were the days!
Saturday morning, I took my standard solo hike through San Isidro.
There is nothing new to see or photograph on this trail, so I figured I’d document the various blossoming flowers before the season ends.
Hope you enjoyed the show. Until next time then, peace out!
Nice romp through the petals.
I didn’t say anything about JR in my previous comment because it sounded as if there were still some doubt as to the circumstances of his death. Frankly, slashing your own throat sounds like a very suspicious way to commit suicide. Most suicidal people prefer to die quickly, with minimal pain, not bleeding out in agony through the neck. Then again, if JR was a tough ex-Army guy, who could have done this to him? I don’t know what to think.
Anyway, I’m sorry to hear of his passing, and I’m more sorry for the family he leaves behind. I hope they find a way to take care of themselves. Will you be helping them out in some way, or do you feel this is none of your business? Either stance is understandable. This is a delicate situation, and still raw.
Yeah, there is still a lot of controversy and suspicion. Autopsy results haven’t been issued, but I’ve seen graphic photos of the corpse and to my eye, it is one large slash across the throat. Like you, I don’t see someone being able to pull this off unless he was unconscious. Knowing a little about him, I can picture him in a drunken rage (he’d been attacked by his wife earlier that night) saying “fuck it”, impulsively grabbing the knife, and violently slashing his throat without much forethought or planning. What a waste of life.
Yeah, suicide sucks. A permanent solution to what is usually a temporary problem. RIP
Yep, the pain doesn’t go away, just gets transferred to the ones you leave behind.