On the Passing Of My Cousin, Allen

YESTERDAY afternoon I got a gigantic surprise.  I came back from doing an errand and suddenly I got a phone  call.  I was told that my cousin Allen Scruggs was dead.  This really shook me up emotionally.  I always felt close to this man.  He and I were very much alike because he had no brothers or sisters just like me.  We both loved good theater, good movies, fine music and all the Arts and Creative Things of Life.  I remember (because he was 3 years older) that he got me interested in people like the writers Philip Roth, Gertrude Stein, Dorothy Parker, F. Scott Fitzgerald and the fantastic man, Ernest Hemingway.  Also I loved the fact that Allen enjoyed the Dramatic Arts...especially the fact is that he enjoyed playwrights like Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller.  I was also proud when as a young man he went to New York City and soon began to make a name for himself as an interior designer.  A strong soul who has the ability to make our lives have more definition and flavor and true zest is a truly wonderful thing.  I miss my First Cousin Allen (who died of Alzheimer's, yesterday, July 14, 2012) so very much.