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Substantial Disruption

Meet the New Mac, Same as the Old Mac

A photograph of the scene of a McDonald's restaurant under demolition. Only the  Golden Arches sign remains.
A pile of debris that used to be a McDonald’s. The fast food operation is branding. So is a certain political con man.

A Whopper of Biblical Proportions

It’s a scene of total destruction. A twisted metal pole sprawls helplessly across a pile of debris. Slabs of concrete and drywall lie splayed about randomly. A lonely red barrel tops a small mountain of what used to be walls, fixtures, and furniture. There are loose wires, severed pipes, and a general air of malaise and devastation. All those visits, all those hours spent with loved ones – gone, utterly gone.

Is this Gaza? Ukraine? The Middle East? A Moscow suburb?

No. It’s what’s left of our neighborhood McDonald’s. By the time I write this, the lot will have been cleared. Don’t let this depress your Happy Meal, though. Like a Phoenix bird, Nixon in 1968, or Donald Trump in bankruptcy court, it will rise again.

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Farewell to Fritz

Kris and Meg Tully scatter Fritz Kinney's ashes in the Pacific, just west of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Kris and Meg Tully scatter Fritz Kinney’s ashes in the Pacific, just west of the Golden Gate Bridge.

One Final Cruise; One Last Farewell

We never discussed music. We discussed many things over the years, but never music. When it was time to produce a playlist for Fritz, I didn’t know her favorite song – or if she even had one. So, I chose some music from her era and some from mine and compiled the soundtrack for her last cruise.

Fritz Kinney was my mother-in-law. She passed away in 2017, a few weeks shy of what would have been her 92nd birthday.

After a few days of meetings with a probate lawyer, the funeral home, and others, Fritz’ cremains were given to my wife Kris’ older sister, Kathy. Kathy, who wasn’t sure when or where she would scatter Fritz’ ashes, never got around to it. A little more than a year later, Kathy went to bed one night and never woke up. The disposition of Fritz’ remains became our responsibility. We escorted Fritz on her final journey last week.

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