Far from the maddening crowd I wake to the wonderment of this day. Many thoughts fill my mind as I reflect back seven years ago to the most disastrous day of my life. What started out to be an exciting day of March Madness Tournament play for the Pac 10 basketball conference truly turned into madness of a different kind.
How can it happen that one moment you are laughing and talking and the next moment you are slumped and struggling for air? That’s an answer I will never know. But that’s precisely what happened to my gentle giant.
Life has many twists and turns. For 40 years we lived a life full of the everyday pleasures and challenges of married life and raising our kids; through in a few cats for good measure.
He was the tall one, I was the short one. He was the thinker, I was the talker. He was the rock, I was the mouthpiece. It worked perfect for us. The Ying and Yang was how we operated.
If you asked the kids they would say, “I’ll ask dad, he’ll know what to do.” He would only advise if asked. He was the most non judgmental person I’ve ever known. I can’t claim that trait.
He could be goofy!
He was my personal chef!!
He loved his fraternity brothers. This photo was taken two days before the fateful day.
When you live a life of logic, problems seems to disappear. That was another way we were different. He would say, “It will pass” when a situation warranted concern. I would say, “How is that possible?”
The response was always the same…his moto, his core belief all bundled up in 5 easy words…It Is What It Is. It was just that simple for him. No regrets, adapt when necessary.
I applaud how he was raised. My second parents, far from what I would call in-laws were the salt of the earth. They had solid moral values. They worked hard and provided a wonderful life for Butch and Nancy.
He brought those same core values to our marriage, that’s why it worked so well. Have you ever tried to have an argument with an engineer? I can tell you, it’s not easy…because logic may be one side of the coin, emotion is on the other! The good news, it usually passed, just like he predicted.
The result…A Life of No Regret. I think of you daily. I thank God for the time we had together and I thank God for our memories.
