Ryan and Debi Cragun’s Blog

I read a lot of science news.  Much of it is very cool, but only occasionally do I read something and find myself saying, “Holy Crap!  I never thought of that and it makes perfect sense!  Genius!”  I did when reading this NYTimes article on parasitic worms.  The article basically explains that, in our evolutionary past, because we did not have particularly good sanitation, it was really common for humans to have parasitic worms.  With improved sanitation, we reduced the likelihood of having these worms.  Now, you’re probably saying, “That’s a good thing, right? I mean, who wants worms?”  Well, turns out, those worms may very well have been a key factor in keeping us healthy and feeling well.  The main scientist interviewed in the NYTimes story tested this theory by infecting sufferers of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with worms.  And the result?  Most of them were cured.  Amazing!  As a sufferer of IBS, I’m wondering where I can get my hands on some of those worms…

Isn’t science amazing?

As I noted last week, my Uncle, Stan Winston, passed away.  I had the opportunity to go to the funeral along with most of my siblings and in-laws.

On the way out to the funeral I read a book about Stan Winston Studio called The Winston Effect.  The book was published in 2006 and Stan sent all of the kids in my family a copy with a personal note in it.  I skimmed through the book back then, but thought it a fitting time to read it in depth.  It does a great job highlighting the many, many contributions Stan Winston Studio made to the fields of makeup, digital effects, puppetry, animatronics, and prosthetics.  It also gives some of Stan’s personal history, which I was not completely familiar with.  I’m really glad I read it as it helped me recognize some of the people at the funeral who worked with Stan for years and contributed to the studio’s success.

The Associated Press wrote up a nice summary of the funeral, which you can find here.  Rather than repeat what they wrote or highlight all of the famous people who were there, I just want to touch on one point that really touched me.  Many of those who spoke pointed out that despite his money and fame, Stan’s greatest treasure and most valued “possession” was his family.  He talked about them to all of his professional colleagues and spent a great deal of time with them.  This reinforced in my mind the human condition: We spend a great deal of time on pretenses - who is more popular, who has more money, etc.  In the end, none of those things matter: we are all vulnerable animals.

But, and this is the part that moved me the most, we have the remarkable opportunity to share our lives with other vulnerable animals and experience something truly remarkable: deep, powerful connections with the people around us.  While probably an artifact of our biological evolution, the power of those relationships is hard to deny.

My cousin, Matt, described Stan’s last day at the funeral.  While it might seem voyeuristic, he explained that describing it perfectly illustrated and celebrated Stan’s life.  I won’t go into all the details except to say that, at one point, Stan was in a hospitable bed with an oxygen mask on.  He was barely able to breath, but as he looked as his wife, my Aunt Karen, Matt described Stan as “radiating love.”  That’s powerful!

While in no way can Stan’s passing be described as a good thing, I have to admit that, from Matt’s description, his family made the most of a really difficult situation.  It sounded, to me, like Stan’s final moments were how every person should exit this world: He was surrounded by family and friends who wanted only to express their love for him.  Matt also noted what he described as a miracle: As Stan was passing, The Beatles’ song “Golden Slumbers” was playing in the background (Stan was a huge fan of The Beatles).  If you know the song, you know that it is about the most perfect song to have playing at a time like that.  A miracle, maybe not.  But the perfect accompaniment for the loss of a loved one, absolutely!

We were in LA for several days and did a few other things while there (went to a restaurant that we first went to during our honeymoon, toured the USS Midway in San Diego, played cards with my family, visited Debi’s brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and walked along the pier at Huntington Beach).  Our last night there we stopped by 6522 Hollywood Blvd to see Stan’s Star.  We forgot our camera and our phone batteries were dead, so we couldn’t take a picture, but I wanted to see it before I left LA as I don’t know when I’ll be back there.  It was a nice culmination of a trip dedicated to the memory of my Uncle Stan.

All in all, it was a great trip to celebrate the life of a great person.  Debi described it as the best funeral she’s ever been to.  I couldn’t agree more.  Even in passing away, Stan created powerful memories…

If you haven’t downloaded Firefox 3 yet, you still have a couple hours to participate in their Guiness World Record setting attempt at the most software downloads in 24 hours.  We’ve downloaded a new copy for each of our 6 computers:

I found out this morning that my uncle, Stan Winston, passed away Sunday night. Stan was a favorite uncle in my family, not because he was rich or famous but almost despite his fame.  Stan was always kind and considerate.  Even while he was winning Oscars, he kept up with Cragun family happenings in rural Morgan, UT.  He went out of his way to make time for his immediate family (he has two kids and four grandkids) and also his extended family, which was no small task considering the size of my family (I have 8 siblings).  He and his family came to most of our weddings; the Winstons were a regular fixture in Utah when I was growing up.

Some of my fondest memories are spending Thanksgivings with the Winstons and my Nealey grandparents at their home in Ogden, UT.  It was a tradition to go see a first-run movie on Thanksgiving, a fitting tradition given Stan’s line of work.  I remember very clearly going to see my favorite movie of all time one of those nights: The Princess Bride at the domed theaters in Roy, UT in 1987.  The movies were always more entertaining as a result of Stan’s humor and insightful criticism, something I didn’t really appreciate as a young, relatively naive boy growing up in rural Utah.  Stan and his son, Matt, were side-splittingly funny, especially when they were together.  It was impossible not to be entertained when the Winstons were around.

The Winstons were also gracious hosts.  I remember my mom pointing out at my cousin Matt’s wedding the amazing ability of all of the Winston family to entertain people by getting people to talk about what was happening in their lives, which is all the more amazing considering the remarkable lives they led.  Stan was also always willing to share his work with my family.  Over the years I’ve been on at least half a dozen tours of Stan Winston Studios, many of them guided by Stan himself.  He guided tours for my closest friends and even my in-laws and some of their friends.  I’m sure he had very important meetings and phone calls he needed to take care of, but family was always right up near the top of his list of priorities.

Stan also gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever heard.  During one visit to his studio, he asked me and my guests what we were planning to do with our lives.  We weren’t sure at the time and said so.  Then Stan offered the following (paraphrased from my memory of the event), “Hopefully you’ll be as lucky as I have been.  But it’s not all about luck.  If you want to be as happy in life as I have been, find what you are passionate about and do that.  Then work isn’t work; it’s play.”  He was right.  For those of us lucky enough to have a choice in what we get to do, finding something we are passionate about and doing that turns our work into a pleasure.  His advice directly influenced my decision to become a Sociologist, as I’m sure it has influenced countless other people to pursue their dreams.

The world may have lost an amazing, artistic genius Sunday with the loss of Stan Winston, but it also lost a favorite uncle, an amazing father, and a generous, loving, and kind person.  We’ll all miss you, Stan…

(Note: His death was covered by the NYTimes and Slashdot, among thousands of other news sites.)

Addenda (I’ll be adding stories and thoughts as they come to me over the next few days):

I’m constantly amazed at how widely known Stan’s work was and how devoted his fans were.  On my way to Costa Rica in early 1996 I sat next to a relatively nondescript individual.  I stood out, of course, as a Mormon missionary and we struck up a conversation.  As we talked on the overnight flight, it eventually came out that Stan Winston was my uncle.  As soon as he heard that, he flipped, as though some how meeting me providing some metaphysical connection to Stan.  He talked nonstop for at least 30 minutes about all of the movies my Uncle had worked on and how much he loved his work.  He knew more about Stan’s work than anyone I had ever met (other than Stan, of course).  We talked about Stan and his work for quite a while and then I surprised him with a gift.  My parents in the Salt Lake City airport had just given me a hat with the Stan Winston Studio logo on it.  I always loved getting merchandise from Stan’s Studios - they had the coolest artwork on them and were great conversation starters for “people in the know”.  When I pulled out the hat, the guy’s heart rate must have doubled.  As much as I wanted to keep the hat, I felt it would really make that guy’s day, so I gave it to him.  I was reminded of this as I have followed the forums discussing Stan’s passing on some of the tech websites I follow.  The devotion of some of his fans is really touching.

Here’s a great tribute video highlighting much of Stan’s work.

We finally had a break in the weather yesterday (it’s the rainy season) long enough to go outside and mow the lawn and take care of some stuff outside.  In the process, I came across this:

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