Greg Clark and I drove a couple of hours yesterday to play the highly-regarded Pine Dunes and a re-developed The Cascades in east Texas. Among the many problems and paradoxes we discussed, solved, or disposed off was the reapperance of the enigmatic JK on this site.
And what a strange, but so in-character initial re-introduction by John!
As the famed instructor Hank Haney once remarked to a student "your swing is in so many planes I don't know which to look at", this one is so obtuse- maybe a Rorschach- that I don't know what to address. But as is often the case, JK is provocative and irreverent if not entertaining.
I'll pass on the frivolous and address the serious from a personal perspective.
I pray for faith, clarity, and understanding each night. I'd like to take solace from Mr. Hendren's sentiment, but my consistent struggles in this area betray the possibility of hope. Unlike my friend Greg Clark who has received confirmation in his search, HE hasn't deemed necessary or appropriate to respond in mine (does "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" have any relevance here?).
Regarding dying and funerals, early in my youth I served a number of requiem masses. Though I could tolerate the incense and liked the music and pagentry, they were often too long and somber. I didn't sense much closure and amelioration of grief as a result.
By contrast, I found the Protestant funeral and the family gathering after internment a more satisfactory experience. Perhaps the balloon release was symbolic of a life enhanced by the association with JD having been well-lived and now progressing to the next level in the spiritual realm.
My wife believes that funerals are for the benefit of the bereaved as opposed to the deceased. She has told me that my wishes regarding my funeral and services are secondary to those of the family and friends. I suppose that she is correct (and I'll be at a terrible disadvantage anyways).
So, what does all this have to do with GCA? I don't possess the mental acuity to see things from JK's perspective, but perhaps he is intimating that an industry which mushroomed for a couple of decades is now in the throes of passing to the next dimension. Maybe opportunities in China, India, Brazil, and other emerging markets will forestall its demise.