#44 in progress.  I, Kenwood Youmans, of sound and occasionally productive mind, do hereby declare this instrument to be my last will and testament. That’s how it begins anyway.  The rest is pretty boring.  Nevertheless, I would like to share a couple of the main ideas in case the writing of my Will suffers the same fate as so many of my scripts – Unfinished.   Here’s the deal…

• I’m nothing without my thoughts.  If the ol’ cabeza isn’t working, pull the plug.  If there’s no plug, use a pillow.
• Perhaps it’s the ego, but I’m not so concerned about death as I am about being eternally forgotten.  I don’t want to live forever, but I want to create something that does.  If I, like so many self described hacks before me, die without realizing this goal, give my scripts to a pompous Hollywood agent who can exploit a dead man’s work.
• For the longest time I wanted my body to be barbecued and tossed into the wind.  But after burying my grandfather in the Alaskan soil, I’ve changed my mind.  I like the idea of a final resting place.  Not only that, I want a tombstone to mark the spot.  Maybe add the quote, “I told you so.”  And as for that resting place, I want to be buried in Gustavus.  One, it is the only place I have ever been that I feel in my bones.  It’s home in so many ways.  Two, if my grave can persuade any family member, alive or not yet born, to visit this place I will be happy. We should never let the Gustavus ties be broken.
• No funeral.  A memorial service similar to my Uncle Michael’s would be more appropriate. Lots of food and drink.  Laugh and be loud.  Wake the dead, I dare you.
• If I die before I can drink my 100 point wine, laugh.
• Devin and Brittany are my children.  Please treat them as such.
• After some careful accounting, you will all be happy to know that everything I leave behind will be tax free.  It turns out that the only value my property holds is of the sentimental kind.  In the coming weeks I will post some of these items and explain why they are so important to me, but for starters I leave my Steve Novak bobblehead to my cat, Finnegan.

Death makes life worth living.  Life remains my focus.  When it one day flashes before my eyes, I hope it’s worth watching.