I know I haven't really been here that long or had a chance to get to know most of you, but hopefully that will change here soon. I plan on spending more time on the forums in an attempt to take my mind off the unfortunate events that have happened recently. A week agolast Tuesday I received a very difficult phone call from my sister telling me that my brother-in-law of 30 years hadjust died.He came into a life situation that he felt was too unbearable to live with and decided to take it upon himself to end his own life. (Self inflicted gun shot wound) It's always sad when anyone takes their own life, but when it's someone that you know and love, it's devastating!

This wasextremely difficult for me to take as I just lost my Dad 3 months ago to abattle with Pancreatic Cancer. He was living with me at the time and since it was just the two of us, I was all alone. This was the hardest thing I've ever had to dobecause he chose to die at home instead of being in a hospital or nursing home, so I was his sole caretaker through out the whole ordeal. With my dad it was somethingI knew was coming, (although that didn't make it any easier when he died) but with my brother-in-law, it was all so sudden and without warning.

My dad was my absolutebest friend, and my brother-in-law was more like a real brother to me as we werecloseto the same age. Not only is ithard to lose two family members so close to the same time, but with it being around this time of the year, it makes it even more difficult. I think one of the only reasons I've been able to deal with all of this without getting myself into trouble, is the fact I've been Clean and Sober for almost 4 years now.

I just hope nobody elsehas to go throughthis sort of thing in such a short period of time.This is the kind of thingI wouldn't even wishon my worst enemy.Well, I'm just glad there are forums like this where I can go and get things off my chest......especially at 4:00 in the morning when I can't sleep.

Anyway, I posted a few new pictures of my car in the gallery after just havingthe windows tinted. Now I have some good onesto compare it to after all the modifications I plan on doing.

 

Man Bro
sorry to hear that. Things will get better through time. Stay around the Forum and keep your mind busy surfing the posts, may just be some good therapy for you.

 

Wow, sorry to hear about your tough year. Look on the bright side of life and know that next year can only get better. I just visited your web page. Nice rides! I noticedwe have very similar tastes in cars. My first car was a 1983redPontiac Fiero. Very fun car to drive (esp. as a 16 y.o. high school soph).My parents bribed me out of it over safety concerns (engine fires and sticky accelerator) into a 1985 Camaro convertible whitewith tan cloth int. and tan top. I absolutely loved that car. I never was in a convertible before we picked that one up and simply fell in love with the open air experience. It was so cool to have a convertible Camaro when no one else did as the previous owner chopped the top off his coupe before convertibles made a comeback. I briefly had a1989 red Camaro conv. black top. But was rear ended by an SUV and pushed into BMW in front of me for a total loss. I then jumped ship for a short time into a 1990 Electric Blue Ford Mustang, but my heart was never in that car. It was stolen in NorthPhily and never seen again. I went back to my true love a1997 30th anniv. addition triple white Z28 with "hugger orange" stripes. It had a Corvette Engine. It was the best car I ever had. Never had a problem with it in almost 9 years. Which made my recent decision tosell it a tough one. But I got a deal I just couldn't refuse on a "used" 2007 triple black Convertible Corvette Z-51 with all the extras. It seems a bit odd, but i kind of miss my Camaro. I don't think most people would understand but after seeing your web page I thought you might. I absolutely love your camaro. Something about a white Camaro sets me off. Funny butI don't like white corvettes. Gotta be black or red in my opinion. But anyway I hope you can still have a niceChristmas and I don't sleep much these days either (insomnia) so maybe I'll run into you on Corvette Forum. If you see me active and need someone to listen just drop me an E-mail anytime.

 

Thanks Rich, I appreciate it!

That goes for you too Vincent!! And you're certainly right about similarities in our past cars. I also had a couple of the early on red fiero's, 1 was an 84 and the other an 85. The 88 GT I have in my webpage is one I picked up a few years back which gave me a whole new appreciation for them. With having the V6 in the GT's as well as the upgraded suspension in the 88's, it had quite a bit more appeal as far as power and handling go.

My past Chevy listis quite long though.I've always been the guy who see's a good deal on an old Camaro or Chevelle,then after buying itand fixing all the problems it has, I have it painted or get some new wheels, drive it around for about a year or so, then re-sell it. A few of them I've kept for more than just the re-sale aspect. In all I've own (2) 67 Camaro cpe's, (2) 73 Z28's, a 79 cpe, an 84 cpe, an 87 I-ROC, an 88 Z28, a 91 RS, and the current 96 Z28.

My first car was a 66 Chevelle. I've also owned a 71, a true 69 SS/396, and a clone 69 SS. I also had a 66 Nova two door post, and finally a true 67 Nova Super Sport. It was the most beautiful black car I've everowned andI took it to all the local car shows,.....which is why I had to sell it. I realized after having it for a year that Icouldn't stand owning something I was afraid would get dirty or scratched, so I sold it. I actuallyprefer to go sideways down the road in my cars(with no one else around mind you) than sit at a car show while people looked at my car.

Anyway, that brings us to the current C5 I just picked up last month. I'm not quite sure why I never bought a Vette before this, but now thatI have I'm really glad I did. If my list of previous cars doesn't convince you I'm a dedicated Chevyman, I also have "The Heartbeat of America, Yesterdays Chevrolet" tattooedon my left forearm. The reason it says "Yesterdays" is because I'm an old school Chevy guy at heart. One of my favorite cars is still a 67 RS/SS Camaro. (Tubbed, Caged and Blown though)I just like the body lines of the older cars better,and not all the computerized mumbo-jumbo they have on the newer ones. (Just a personal opinion)

Anyway, thanks again for the post,...... it certainly gave me an excuse to put my mind on the past instead of the current events.

BTW, this post also describes why my screen name is Str8upChevy!

 

Thanks for shareing your story with us. There are never any words to cover such a thing. I am really sorry for your pain and your loss. Just know that although it will never go away you will learn to deal with it over time. also know that they are both in a far better place, this I know. I'll bet your sister needs you too. that will keep you busy as well. Like gorichb said hang in there and keep reading the forums. and remember you have a new friends here too. stay well and God bless.

 

Hey, Str8 -
I'm so glad you found this Forum! You'll find the greatest people here. I was just reading your post and then read it out loud to my husband. A few years back, we lost his Dad to a self inflicked gun shot to the head and my husband was the one whom found him. I can't say we know exactly what you are going through, but have a pretty good idea. We will keep you in our prayers and you hang real close to this Forum for all the support you need. It is here 24/7, so don't ever let yourself get lost and stay clean bro - whether it's juice or junk, it never helps; only makes things worse.
Hey, I love your rides - great website. Be sure and post more pics when you get them. We all love pics!
Take care, stay safe.
Rita

 

Thanks bud, I appreciate your thoughts, and you're right about my sister. Unfortunately it's not just my sister though......I have a 24 year oldnephew who's in theNavy and also a 22 year old niece. Each have two kids of their own who were very close to their Grandpa, so it's also been very hard on them. My nephew gave the eulogy at the funeral and did an outstanding job.

He appeared to be holding it together very well while I was there, although I know he wasreally torn up about it as well. He and his dad wereas close as any two could be. I just wish he didn't have to ship back out so soon on his next tour. The other thing is that the rest of themlive over 300 miles away from meso it's not likeI can do as much for them as they can do for each other right now.

I understand what you mean by the "being in a better place", although I'd have to say that everyone in the family would disagree. I think having them here and alivewith us would be far superior to them being dead. Obviously their situations weren't the best prior to their deaths, but in the case of my brother-in-law,........he took a temporary problem andmadeit apermanent solution. I also know that before my father passed away, he talked about wishing he had just a few more months to be with his family.That and I don'tbelieve in the afterlife. But still I appreciate your gesture just the same.

I agree with also about the pain never really going away for good but getting better with time, because after 3 months of not having my oldman around still hurt, but it wasn't so intence. I'm sure the same will hold true with my brother-in-law. I'd have to say that most of my pain and sorrow is actually for my sister and her kids. Knowing what I just went through after losing my dad, and thinking how much worse it would have been had it happened 18 years ago. I got to spend almost twice as much time with my dad.

I know that they will definitely need some help financially as his life insurance policy will no longer be any good. I can certainly help out with that for a while, I just wish Mack would have thought about stuff like that before he decided to make such a selfish decision. Sorry, but I just can't help but also have some anger mixed in with all the hurt. I guess when you become suicidal you don't really think about anyone else. I knowmost of the200 + people at the funeral felt the same way to a point.

Good grief,......I had no idea this became so long. Oh well, I guess I needed to get it off my chest or I would have quit a long time ago. It's time to go take my meds anyway, so this will be a good place to quit.

 

Thanks Rita, I really appreciate your reply. I'm very sorry for you and your husbands loss as well. I can understand now that the substances don't help the situation, and that's because I've learned a lot since getting sober. But the thought of using something to ease the pain when something like this happens will probably never go away. I just know how to resond to things now instead of reacting to them. Living alone has been a bit of a struggle during this time, so yes, being able to come here and spend time expressing my feelings is a very good thing for me right now. After my father passed away, I decided to sell my Condo and move to Southern Oregon so that I wouldn't have as much temptation to look up my old friends when things happen. (I know you can't run from your problems, but I thought a fresh start someplace new would do me good) I also have a big portion of my family here so that's another reason I chose this place.

I did just post a few new pictures of my car in the gallery here, but I definitely plan on updating them as soon asI start spending somemoney on it. There's so many things I want to do to it, and with being on full disability, I'm probably going to end up selling the 96 Z28 to do them. I definitely want to Supercharge it as well as doing a heads and cam swap.I think I'll probably get some different wheels for it too. We'll see what happens this spring.

 

Man that sucks, I dont even know what to say. Good luck with everything and u will b in my prayers.

 

Thanks partner, that means a lot! I completely understand about not knowing what to say. Your replyis enough to know that you care, and that's all that really matters.