A Note From mt58

Hello, and welcome to tnocs.com. I’m mt58, the creator and owner of the site.

It’s been 71 days since we launched, and in that very brief time, I have been humbled, gratified, and astounded by the kind participation from commenters, authors and visitors to this destination.

My original intent for this dumb little blip on the internet was for it to be a happy and relaxing place; a tiny oasis where you all could spend your valuable time. I wanted to keep things light, fun, amusing, and interesting. That’s the mission, and I hope that in some small way, I’m delivering on the concept. As long as you all keep coming to visit me, I promise you that I will continue to try hard every day to do so.

Today, I woke up at 3:12 AM to write up a weekly comedy bit for the site. I had trouble concentrating, as I kept being reminded of something from many years ago when radio shows were live, local, and often considered “appointment listening.”

I recall tuning in to hear my very favorite radio DJ do one of his daily bits. Every day at precisely 10:05AM, he’d put away the rock and roll records and play a 3-4 minute cut by a comedian. This was a running bit; I looked forward to it, and it always made me laugh.

But it was different on this day. One of his colleagues, the 12 to 6AM overnight guy, had experienced a family tragedy. His little boy had been suffering from an incurable illness. In the middle of the night, he lost his battle, and had passed away at the age of three years old.

The affable and jokey curator of comedy quietly explained what had happened. “We wanted to let you all know: [DJ’s name’s] little son passed away last night. We’re devastated, and at a complete loss as to what we can say or do.”

There was a full ten seconds of silence, and then:

“You know, I… If you’re tuning in for the 10:05 comedy break, we’re not going to do it today, because we’re just not feeling that f******g funny.”

If you come here for the good company of friends, the silly fun and games, the music and pop culture conversations, and wonderful articles by people like you, well, we’re all here for you. I’m here for you. And I’ll be back later today with a “Weekend Files” bit to try and make you laugh, and I’ll be proud to do so. That’s the job that you’re allowing me to have. I appreciate you all, and I’ll deliver.

But right this minute, I’m just not feeling that funny.

Courtesy of today’s New York Times:

Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, 10: Alexandria, who went by Lexi, played softball and basketball and wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up. Her parents saw her make the honor roll with straight A’s and receive a good-citizen award at her school on the day she was killed.

Amerie Jo Garza, 10: Amerie was “a jokester, always smiling,” her father said. She liked playing with Play-Doh and spending time with friends during recess. “She was very social,” he said. “She talked to everybody.”

Tess Marie Mata, 10: Tess liked TikTok dance videos, Ariana Grande and getting her hair curled, The Washington Post reported. And she loved José Altuve, the diminutive Houston Astros star whose position she emulated. She was saving money for a family trip to Disney World once her older sister, Faith, graduated from college next year.

Jose Flores: “My little Josesito,” his grandfather called him. He was an energetic baseball and video-game enthusiast. In a photo his grandfather keeps in his wallet, Jose has a beaming smile and wore a T-shirt reading, “Tough guys wear pink.”

Miranda Mathis, 11: Miranda “was very loving and very talkative,” the mother of a close friend told The Austin American-Statesman. Miranda would often ask the mother to do her hair like her friend’s.
Maite Rodriguez, 10: Maite dreamed of attending Texas A&M University to become a marine biologist, a cousin wrote on Facebook: “She was her mom’s best friend.”

Makenna Lee Elrod, 10: Makenna liked to sing and dance, play with fidget toys and practice softball and gymnastics, an aunt told ABC News. She also loved animals, and hiding notes for her family to find. She recently gave her friend Chloe a friendship bracelet.

Xavier Lopez, 10: An exuberant baseball and soccer player, Xavier also chatted on the phone with his girlfriend and made the honor roll. “He was funny, never serious,” his mother, Felicha Martinez, told The Washington Post. “That smile I will never forget. It would always cheer anyone up.”

Eliana Garcia, 9: The second-eldest of five girls, Ellie helped around the house, reminding her grandparents to take their pills, helping mow the lawn and babysitting her younger sisters, her grandfather told The Los Angeles Times. She loved “Encanto,” dancing for TikTok videos, cheerleading and basketball.

Layla Salazar, 10: Layla also liked dancing to TikTok videos, and she won six races at the school’s field day, her father told The Associated Press. She and her dad would sing every morning on their drive to school.

Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10: Eliahana played softball and particularly looked forward to wearing her green and gray uniform, along with eye black grease. The final game of the season was scheduled for Tuesday, and she was hoping to make the Uvalde All-Star team.

Alithia Ramirez, 10: Alithia loved to draw. She wanted to become an artist, her father told a San Antonio TV station. After a car struck and killed her best friend last year, Alithia sent his parents a drawing of him sketching her portrait in heaven and her sketching his portrait on earth.

Jackie Cazares and Annabelle Rodriguez were cousins in the same class. Jackie was the social one. “She always had to be the center of attention,” her aunt said. “She was my little diva.” Annabelle was quieter. But the girls were close — so close that Annabelle’s twin sister, who was home-schooled, “was always jealous.”

Jailah Silguero, 10: Jailah was the youngest of four children, the “baby” of the family, her father said. Her mother told Univision that Jailah liked to dance and film videos on TikTok.

Jayce Luevanos, 10: Jayce, Jailah’s cousin, would brew a pot of coffee for his grandparents every morning, his grandfather told USA Today. Friends would come over to his house, a block from the school, to play in the yard. He enjoyed making people laugh, another relative told The Daily Beast.

Uziyah Garcia, 9: Uziyah enjoyed video games and football. His grandfather told The Los Angeles Times that Uziyah “was the type of kid [who] could get interested in anything in five minutes. Just the perfect kid, as far as I’m concerned.”

Nevaeh Bravo, 10: “She’s flying with the angels now,” a cousin wrote on Twitter.

Rojelio Torres, 10, was “intelligent, hard-working and helpful,” his aunt told a San Antonio television station.

Eva Mireles, 44: “She loved those children,” a neighbor said. Mireles had worked for the school district for about 17 years. She enjoyed running and hiking. “She was just very adventurous and courageous and vivacious and could light up a room,” a relative told ABC News.

Irma Garcia, 46: Garcia spent 23 years at Robb Elementary, five of them as Mireles’s co-teacher. She liked to sing along to classic rock tunes and help her nephew, a college student, with his homework. Garcia was known as a steadfast optimist. She enjoyed barbecuing with her husband of 24 years, Joe; he died yesterday, of a heart attack.

Thanks for letting me do this. I’ll be back later.

Good on you all.

-mt

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