I have been to a lot of funerals of family members, friends and strangers
too. When I was a motorcycle cop we pioneered Travis County funeral escorting which inspired many to have a sense of
pride. Them that know, know what I mean.
Many times at funerals I have witnessed people acting a natural fool,
crying, wailing and even trying to crawl into the casket screaming the bereaved's name to "Not leave them" and such.
I have concluded that when people act up that way, they are the ones that
the departed helped the most but they likely did little for in return... unreciprocal loved ones. It's true time and
time again.
My wife is constantly asking me "Have you seen your daddy?" The
answer I give her is usually dry but you need to recognize that is my personality... to be dry to what I consider an invasive
quip or question. I think the next time she asks I will ask her did she see him... My dad taught my wife a class at
HTC and although she passed his course she also knows that he was very hard. I knew that he and Mrs. Echols were
hard already and that's why I took Mr. Dickerson... I wanted to pass.
Anyway I am sure that having been taught by my father, when ten years
later we started dating, her experience with him helped me with her too. I have so much to be thankful for due to my
dad. My mother was a reading teacher and administrator but my dad is the one who wrote books and kept journals... Maybe
that's where I got THIS writing bug from? Both of them probably.
How is he doing 3 weeks after St David's doctors said to send him to a
hospice to die? My dad isn't ready to go yet even though they said BOTH his kidneys were shut down, even though they
said that his cancer was all over his body. I guess he hasn't accepted that he is dying yet because he is getting out
of bed and trying to be mobile on his own.
I am in awe of my dad's human spirit. Straight up, unsanctified
AWE. I am as proud of his tenacity to hang around as long as he wants to also because it speaks to the unknown strengths
deep inside of me... strengths that have never come out yet because it is not that time.
