Please indulge me in a bit of personal matter here. I do not offer this for pity or sympathy, but instead to pass along a lesson I am learning right now.

Years ago I seem to recall an interview of Roy Orbison where he was asked by the interviewer about all the pain and death in his life and how hard all of it must have been on him (Orbison, if I recall correctly, lost a young wife in a tragic motorcycle accident and children in a horrible house fire. I think there were other tragedies that I can't recall at this time).

Orbison admitted he had pain in his life, but that of all that pain in his life, he felt so fortunate to have those people in his life and was so grateful he had them in his life for the time that he did.

I bring this up because one lesson I sincerely want to pass along to others out there is not to make the same mistakes that I have made.

Each day I wake up, I am grateful for the life I have had = I grew up poor but with an exceptional nuclear and extended large family. Our life was the epitome of while financially poor, we were rich in love and the things that truly matter.

During the past decade, I have lost every person the most important to me. In the last five years alone, my entire nuclear family has passed away (sister, mother, father). Lucky for me, I still have my lovely wife and four daughters. Now, instead of deep mourning, the way I look at this period is the same way described by Orbison - instead of dwelling on the mourning, I am instead grateful for knowing all of these people for the time I got with them.

Now, my suggestions are these: first, mend any bridge that has been broken; forgive the people you love if you can; reestablish those ties and take the high road. Also, pick the brains of all those you love and who are important to you. Find out all you can about them. Pour over family pictures and find the history of them. Ask your loved ones all about their drives, ambitions and how they got where they were. Ask all questions you can think of because when they are gone, that is when so many questions arise and these questions will go unanswered.

Take plenty of pictures and video. Enjoy your children and loved ones and their personalities. Accept them for who they are, don't hold grudges and don't judge them. Find out what makes them tick and how they got there.

Also, collect this information and provide it for those that come after you.

I have been left with so many unanswered questions; ones I would love to know the answers too, but now, never will.

Lastly, for my own history, I have created a blog for my Father's life, artwork and influences (http://www.monteellis.wordpress.com).

There are so many things I do not know.

Thank you all for the indulgence.

Love to you all,

Eric