krishanna|dot|com

My Father Pulls a Joan Crawford From the Urn

2009-10-24T16:59:37-04:00

If you aren't familiar with what Joan Crawford did to her children in her will, here's a brief synopsis: After bullying and abusing her kids for years, Joan Crawford left nothing to 2 of her adopted children "for reasons well known to them". I am documenting my last few days this way so I can share this journey with other people who have an interest and in the hopes that people who may find themselves in similar circumstances will find something they can use in this series of posts. Thursday, October 22, 2009, Mid-Afternoon So picking up from my last post, I got a phone call from my father's widow no long after I spoke with her pastor about adding us to the memorial service bulletin. Annie: Hello. This is Annie. Me: Hi, Annie. Annie: I'm calling about Duke's memorial service. You wanted to be acknowledged on the bulletin? Me:...

A Job For the Drama Llama

2009-10-24T14:44:34-04:00

Thursday, October 22, 2009, Early Afternoon Okay, so the church my father had been attending is having his memorial service. After talking to my sister and checking with the other two daughters, we 've decided to ask the church to include us in the church bulletin for genealogical reasons. My sister and one of the other sisters are into genealogy and so, it would be nice to have some acknowledgment; especially since we were not acknowledged on the obituary. I called the church, to give the church administrative assistant the appropriate information and leave word that I'd like to talk with the Pastor. She is a little surprised to be hearing from someone who claims she's Duke Spencer's daughter. It went something like this: Me: Hello, my name is Krishanna Spencer and I am Duke Spencer's daughter. I would like to speak with the pastor before tomorrow's memorial service. Admin...

Surviving George Owen

2009-10-21T15:42:28-04:00

This obituary appeared in the Payson, Arizona newspaper, The Payson Roundup, some time in the last 7 days. George “Duke” Spencer died Oct. 14, 2009 in Payson. He was born May 8, 1927 in Illinois. Mr. Spencer moved to Payson in 1991. The Army veteran worked for a time as an actor in Hollywood, appearing in the John Wayne film “War Wagon” and the films “Hour of the Gun” and “Prison,” among others. He was also a volunteer with the Special Olympics program. He is survived by his wife, Annie G.S. Spencer of Payson; son, John Shaffer Spencer of Chandler; and grandson, Kyle. There will be a memorial service at 3 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23 at Mount Cross Lutheran Church in Payson. Donations in Mr. Spencer’s name may be made to Hospice Compassus or to a special fund for Annie Spencer at Wells Fargo Bank. You might wondering who this...

The Dalai Lama on Praise and Criticism

2009-10-03T18:29:28-04:00

"If we really stop to think about praise and criticism, we will see they do not have the least importance. Whether we receive praise or criticism is of no account. The only important thing is that we have a pure motivation, and let the law of cause and effect be our witness. If we are really honest, we can see that it makes no difference whether we receive praise and acclaim. The whole world might sing our praises, but if we have done something wrong, then we will still have to suffer the consequences for ourselves, and we cannot escape them. If we act only out of a pure motivation, all the beings of the three realms can criticize and rebuke us, but none of them will be able to cause us to suffer. According to the law of karma, each and every one of us must answer individually for...

Not Just Navel Gazing

2009-10-02T13:09:18-04:00

My Dearest Readers~ I am not just contemplating my navel. Honest. I am still here and I still think about you and this blog everyday. The way in which I live my life on the web has changed dramatically and naturally, so has the way I blog or don't blog. The minutiae of daily life feels too trivial and too boring to relay to you. The summer was hot and long and I spent most of it just getting through. My pain levels climb to 6 or 7 (on a good day) and remain there throughout the summer. Between managing pain and working on the web more and more, there's little energy left in the bank for personal blogging. It's been all about television and Second Life from my recliner most evenings this summer. There are parts of my life that feel too vulnerable to offer up to public consumption...