Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 17 hours ago
We're all gonna die someday. No surprise. It's okay. Especially if you can reach to at least live 60 years. This song may sound like a farewell song, and it is just in case I die unexpectedly or something But it is still a universal song, for everybody. Many people I worked with at the railroad museum here in Mendota are passed on. I became involved in 1994 and 30 years later we are without so many of the first generation of volunteers. I came in at about 32 years old, so I really was one of the younger ones.
My Ma and Dad are gone. My Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents are all gone.
I recently have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and have decided not to get treatment at this point. I am doing some proactive things to help slow the cancer down, but who knows how long I can go without the conventional radiation treatments, etc. They have side effects, and I just don't want to deal with all that right now. If I wait too late, so be it. I'm still enjoying life and gonna run the race to the finish line. It's okay.
IN making this video, I was assisted by several good friends who make my life worth living, Penny and Bill Guynn, Marty Funnfinsin I like our little road trips and that's when I feel the best, being outdoors in the good weather.
I thank my Ma and Dad for so much. Appreciate your parents while you have them because they won't last forever on this earth.
I wish everyone well. The meaning of life is to love and be kind and forgiving. We should strive to make a positive difference in our communities and in people's lives. We try the best we can. We will fall down and make mistakes but get back up again and keep going. Be a friend to others. You never know what someone is going through.
I hope you will listen to this song with headphones and hear the many things going on. Music keeps me charged and local history, too.
On June 14th, 2025 is our annual Railroad Day at the Mendota Museum.. On a Saturday between !0;00 and 4pm. Come by and say hi. I should be in the Illinois Central Baggage Car with my guitar and my paintings, a handful of them.
Well, that's all folks, I have so far enjoed my life and am currently going at a high rate of speed trying to get things done mainly for YOU, the PEOPLE, the oes visiting our museums and those listening to my music, and reading my books of music and historical fiction. (Twice Upon a Ghost Town) Check it out on amazon.com. I won't always be here and my art my not always be available. Get it while you can.
One more thing. When I was editing this video with my headphones on, I got a phone call with some very sad news. The Librarian, Sue Huss at the Cherry IL, library/museum had suddenly died at age 54. This was a shock and was a reminder that we never know. This is way too early for her to pass, and many people are devasted. The library is where my model of the Cherry Coal Mine is on permanent display and she was doing such a fine job with the museum as her mother, Paula also did. Her mother had passed on way too young, too.
We don't know when our day to leave this earth will come, so make the best of it. Experience it to the fullest. Go on trips, spend time with family and friends. Learn from others, share with others and be kind and thankful for everything. Everybody hurts in their own way and others can help us make it through. Take care! Musically, and historically yours, Ray Tutaj Jr.
We're all gonna die someday. No surprise. It's okay. Especially if you can reach to at least live 60 years. This song may sound like a farewell song, and it is just in case I die unexpectedly or something But it is still a universal song, for everybody. Many people I worked with at the railroad museum here in Mendota are passed on. I became involved in 1994 and 30 years later we are without so many of the first generation of volunteers. I came in at about 32 years old, so I really was one of the younger ones.
My Ma and Dad are gone. My Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents are all gone.
I recently have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and have decided not to get treatment at this point. I am doing some proactive things to help slow the cancer down, but who knows how long I can go without the conventional radiation treatments, etc. They have side effects, and I just don't want to deal with all that right now. If I wait too late, so be it. I'm still enjoying life and gonna run the race to the finish line. It's okay.
IN making this video, I was assisted by several good friends who make my life worth living, Penny and Bill Guynn, Marty Funnfinsin I like our little road trips and that's when I feel the best, being outdoors in the good weather.
I thank my Ma and Dad for so much. Appreciate your parents while you have them because they won't last forever on this earth.
I wish everyone well. The meaning of life is to love and be kind and forgiving. We should strive to make a positive difference in our communities and in people's lives. We try the best we can. We will fall down and make mistakes but get back up again and keep going. Be a friend to others. You never know what someone is going through.
I hope you will listen to this song with headphones and hear the many things going on. Music keeps me charged and local history, too.
On June 14th, 2025 is our annual Railroad Day at the Mendota Museum.. On a Saturday between !0;00 and 4pm. Come by and say hi. I should be in the Illinois Central Baggage Car with my guitar and my paintings, a handful of them.
Well, that's all folks, I have so far enjoed my life and am currently going at a high rate of speed trying to get things done mainly for YOU, the PEOPLE, the oes visiting our museums and those listening to my music, and reading my books of music and historical fiction. (Twice Upon a Ghost Town) Check it out on amazon.com. I won't always be here and my art my not always be available. Get it while you can.
One more thing. When I was editing this video with my headphones on, I got a phone call with some very sad news. The Librarian, Sue Huss at the Cherry IL, library/museum had suddenly died at age 54. This was a shock and was a reminder that we never know. This is way too early for her to pass, and many people are devasted. The library is where my model of the Cherry Coal Mine is on permanent display and she was doing such a fine job with the museum as her mother, Paula also did. Her mother had passed on way too young, too.
We don't know when our day to leave this earth will come, so make the best of it. Experience it to the fullest. Go on trips, spend time with family and friends. Learn from others, share with others and be kind and thankful for everything. Everybody hurts in their own way and others can help us make it through. Take care! Musically, and historically yours, Ray Tutaj Jr.
