I just knew the funeral was going to be a 'disaster' but I was hoping for two things. One old hag grandma Kirk got nerve pinched and two, Sam got decked.

One out of possibly two ain't bad, maybe I will find out later that Marissa did the deed.

Honestly, what was Winoa thinking? I would have been cremated handed over to James and the only memorial service would have been the 'immediate' family, minus Sam sitting around the kitchen table drinking hot chocolate. Everyone would have been gone their separate ways the same day unless Akia offered a personal invitation.

Oh and I am feeling pretty bitter about Jim and Spock not being able to decide on their own to stay on earth. I am all for free will in a crisis. It should have been their decision alone not an a-hole in the Admiralty.   If they resign could they not live on the Enterprise as spouses along with McCoy? I am sure some other member of the Federation needs multiple partners to make a family unit and would adopt the saviours of the Federation in appreciation and make it so.  Spock will adjust, but James will bring down the Command structure of Starfleet if he is stuck behind a desk no matter the planet! They will pay when a bored Jim Kirk destroys them!

Kudos to Miss Carr for conveying so much emotional content and offering up such three dimensional characterizations. I have been amused, touched, peeved and pissed off.

Oddly the events surrounding this funeral are reminiscent of funerals and family reunions I experienced as a child.  It would at least start out with a lot of glad handing but always wound up with too much alchohol being consumed and lots of bad karma being aired for all and sundry.

It is really spooky how I feel like I'm reading about my own relatives. The levels of denial the characters live in only adds to the stress everyone is experiencing. 

This is quite amazing how the author can convey the vunerability and flaws of being human so well.

Jesus, I am almost creeped out. Winoa could be my mom. She did the exact same thing, on top of years of little or no communication about herself or us. It has been painful to read through these last two chapters because it reminds me of her so much.

I'm so glad the 'family' was there for Jim. They are diverse and sometimes at each others throats, but they are his support and loving.

OmG. THIS IS hilarious. Reminds me of the time when i saw my cousin on tv being arrested. Not totally fun.

ah, they finally got together! good on them, Nytoa and bones deserve it after all the stuff they've gone though together. :)

Wow a lot it this chapter. Very good.

Having just arranged my mother's funeral and dealt with the world's biggest MORON funeral director, I empathize with Jim and his family. I also love 'my ship is bigger than your ship.'

I'm fascinated by your take on Winona Kirk as a woman who does care but lacks any sort of social skills and hence makes a mess of her personal life anyway. We all know people like that. It's so human and I appreciate that. Also I like that you treat the banality of child abuse. It's so often a parent who can't handle their own business and the child becomes a nuisance that is abused and neglected. Of course there are more pernicious child abusers out there but I have no doubt the majority arises because the parent is immature, or an addict, or is somewhere on the depression/narcissisism/BPD spectrum (oddly enough, the "untreatable" BP disorder responds to antidepressants--ha ha). Imo, not all narcissists are the untreatable malignant type. Some are depressed, hopeless, hormonally out of whack (messed up dopamine ecology, low Vit D which leads to drop in other necessary hormones, low energy, thyroid insufficiency, pain, migraines, etc), and have just given up. I wonder if there is more to do with the endocrine/energy systems than we think because consider how some people behave when they have clinical or subclinical low blood sugar? Nasty, selfish, short, rude, impatient? Low glucose (which feeds the brain) creates an altered state of being. (Probably a factor in the abusive alcoholic, who is doing a number on their endocrine system and liver and brain.) Alzheimer's, as well, or other forms of dementia, can cause a nasty, mean, even bigoted personality to emerge.

Sorry to get on a tangent. But thanks for dealing with this in a realistic way instead of a romanticized way.

“Mom what are you talking about?” As soon as her mother handed her a PADD with the headline 'Federation hero knocks up ex girlfriend behind husbands back', she started screaming.

Well, that doesn't sound good.

<i>This was the first time he has ever ended up in the emergency room because of a pretzel.  This was embarrassing and worse than the cookie thing.</i>

Yes, indeed, the Bush-jr. Bush-KUN wo shita.