By Chu The Cud
November 11, 2026
I’m a lucky motherfucker.
I live alone. Just me and my Akita, Teddy.
It’s not the life I envisioned when I moved to California with my wife nearly three decades ago. I had plans. Plans to build a life, make movies, play music, help friends succeed, contribute to my community, and help my Masonic Lodge prosper.
Instead, life had other plans.
I’ve experienced betrayal, disappointment, and a few knives in the back from people I once trusted. But that’s life. You take the lesson, carry the scar, and move on.
Recently, life decided to throw another curveball.
As many of you know, I developed a serious intestinal problem. I tried to tough it out, thinking it would pass. I didn’t want to add to an already overcrowded sanctuary city emergency room. But my last night at work, I had issues standing up straight.
Turns out I had a severe case of diverticulitis, with a possible tear in my intestine. Something I’d never experienced and knew very little about.
I ended up in the hospital, pumped full of antibiotics and pain medication, with the possibility of surgery hanging over my head.
And there I was. Alone.
My wife, from whom I’ve been separated for years, was in Rhode Island visiting family. She’s doing fine with the life we built. Life was moving along for everyone else while I was lying alone in a hospital bed next to a man who consistently needed his colostomy bag cleaned, wondering what came next.
But then something wonderful happened.
My youngest son, Charlie, stepped up.
Without hesitation, he picked up Teddy and brought him home to care for him. He visited me every day. He called me every day. He moved my car to another space to avoid me getting a ticket. He made sure I knew I wasn’t alone.
Once upon a time, I called him Choo-Choo Charlie. He was just a little boy who depended on me to look after him. On days his siblings were in school me and him would hang at the beach until they came out of school. Me with my trumpet, he with his toys.
This past week, that little boy looked after me.
Funny how life comes full circle.
The little boy I helped raise had become a man I could depend on.
And I know, without question, that if my son James and daughter Lizzie weren’t away in college, building their own life, they would have been right there too.
That’s when it hit me.
I have three pillars in my life. Charlie, James, and Lizzie.
Three human beings I helped bring into this world. Three people I can count on when life gets difficult. And three people who will always be able to count on me.
Not because they owe me anything.
But because that’s what family is supposed to be.
I’ve lost relationships, friendships, opportunities, and a few illusions along the way. I’ve been disappointed by people I trusted and challenged by circumstances I never anticipated.
But look at what I have.
Three children who have grown into people I’m proud of. A loyal dog who depends on me. A roof over my head. And another opportunity to wake up tomorrow and experience whatever this universe has waiting.
So tonight, I want to thank the universe.
The heavens. The sun and the moon. The stars. Mother Nature. Every force, seen and unseen, that makes up this extraordinary existence.
I’m thankful for the good. I’m thankful for the difficult. I’m even thankful for the struggles, because they’ve taught me what really matters.
At sixty years old, I’m still learning.
And perhaps the greatest lesson is that wealth isn’t measured by what you’ve accumulated, the positions you’ve held, or the people who once stood beside you.
It’s measured by who is still there when you need them most.
I may live alone, but I am not alone.
And that makes me one lucky motherfucker.
— Chu The Cud © 2026. All Rights Reserved.
