The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

It's been 3 weeks and still doesn't seem real, even though I was there when it happened. Three weeks ago today, my father passed away. It happened so quickly, it felt like a bad dream. Unfortunately, it wasn't. I find myself wanting to text him about a: storm, joke, crazy news story, or Detroit Tigers game, only to realize there will be no response.  The truth is he had been ill for a while, yet we always tried to remain hopeful. Lung issues exacerbated to the point where his doctors recommended going through the process for a lung transplant, and what an arduous process it was - 'arduous' doesn't even do it proper justice. I keep trying to tell myself he's no longer suffering, yet it's difficult to not ask the "What if?" questions, and wonder if something could have been done to have elongated his life, or to have at least allowed him to live his final years in a healthier, happier state.  My dad and I had a rather atypical relationship, as ov...

It appears the family has decided to go with the traditional obituary for my father, who passed the evening of May 21st. I spent a lot of time working on a non-traditional obituary for him, as I wanted to share stories of the man I called dad, and more fully capture the essence of his character. It may be different. The language may be more colorful at times than is typical. But that's who he was; I loved him for it; and I know, deep down, he'd love this. RIP, dad. You'll be greatly missed.    Neal Christopher Rozniecki (or as he sometimes called himself, “Kneel”) was finally able to set his mind at ease on May 21, 2025. If you spent even just 5 seconds with Chris, you knew his mind was always in overdrive – often making unexpected detours along the way. This 73-year road trip started on March 29, 1952, in Detroit, Michigan, with his parents Joan (Jimmy) and Ed at the wheel. Chris, like his father, always excelled in math, so he naturally started his work-journey at Baskin-...