Before I get to the complaining part of the unofficial start of tourist season here...
I will do what memorial day implies. So many people these days only know that memorial day is a holiday on the calendar. It is so much more. It's like Veteran's Day, only so much more. It is a day 'we' official honor and remember our lost loved ones. Think of it sort of like the Mexican Day of the Dead (which I believe is the day we in America celebrate Halloween), in which ancestors are honored by placing food and flowers on their graves and remember them. So...in honor of some of our lost ones...

In memory of Bill's Mom and Dad. I know they were divorced a very long time, but as they are both gone, I don't think they'll care. He says this was taken after they were first married. For now we'll focus on his mom. They divorced when he was 9, and he and his other 2 siblings who were still at home chose to live with their father. She died when he was about 19, I think. She went in for a hysterectomy and died 'on the table'. He never forgets he broke her heart when he chose his father. We've been to visit her grave on mother's day, it's something I don't wish to repeat. He never forgets. He never forgives himself either.

This is the most recent pic we have of his father. We lost him last year, I think. It seems so long ago. He was diagnosed and died of cancer within 2 months. It was really just too late to try chemo and radiation. So many of his family were broken after this loss. The woman with him is his widow. We still check on her, and I make sure she gets mother's day stuff anyway.
I can't find my pics of our next pair. They were Bill's nephews. Andy and Josh. Andy was going to graduate that summer, and Josh was just a couple years younger. It was a car accident. It was in no way their fault. It was a combination of rain, bad roads, and a curve. Apparently there's a few uneven spots along that curve that has caused even the most careful of drivers go off the road on a sunny day. The boys went out to rent a video game, and never came home.
I thought I had a pic of my cousin Aaron, but I can't find it. He died when he was 25, I think. He was the first person I ever actually knew that died. Also was the first dead body I had ever seen. He didn't look dead, it was creepy. His sisters still miss him. Janelle's youngest son was born on Aaron's birthday, the year after he died. He was out partying with friends. Apparently he fell off the back of a barely moving pick up truck and hit his temple on something. He did not look in any way bruised or scratched, so they only thought he passed out. Poor guys didn't know until he turned blue or something I guess. He was also the last boy to have our last name. Unless one of us girls give a son our maiden name, which we haven't, it will pass out of our generation.
Then there's Donny. He died of cancer also. It took him about 6 years to die of it. At first he had colon cancer. He was in his early 20's with his first diagnosis. It was taken out and thought beaten. About 2 years later it showed up again and no matter what they did, he died. He was fairly close to my age. One of the few family friends we had. He was 24. He only got to attend college for a couple of years.
Those are my lost loved ones. Yes there were aquaintances who died, but that's different. There is also Bill's grandma. I hear she was an awesome lady worth knowing. I think we would have gotten along really well. He does miss her too, but not quite like he does his parents. Now my kids really have no grandparents with the exception of Connie, Bill's stepmom. No, my father is not one I consider responsible enough to fill that role. As my mother is in no way anywhere near us, that does not matter either. Oh well, my kids have loving uncles and aunts to more than make up for what they have lost. Maybe, if I'm lucky, they won't even notice what they will be missing. Especially as they have a couple of uncles old enough to be their grandparents. Bill was a surprise and wasn't born until the oldest was already out of high school.

And now my bitching about the unofficial start of tourist season. It'll have to wait. I don't feel like it anymore. See ya'll around. Take a little time to remember your loved ones who are no longer with us. I know I miss mine. |