Jim

We will attend a viewing; this afternoon. A long time in coming.
Remember I told you of my friend,Jim, who passed back in December? On the 22nd?
It will be for him.
The memorial mass will be tomorrow.
Yesterday his obituary finally appeared in the local paper. Finally.
It was the driest, barest, coldest, least representative narrative of an individual I've read in a long time.
Oh, all the proper people were mentioned. The sons; the sisters - who he loved but rarely saw; the nieces; nephews - who were rarely part of his life; the wife - from whom he'd been separated for 18 YEARS.
His military career was brushed over. No real mention of his many, many accomplishments.
His work as a Contractor after his retirement was a gloss. Nada. Nothing.
The man was awarded the Order of St. Michael's, for gosh sake. He supported the homeless veterans; quietly, but consistently. He always made sure that we had a place to celebrate the 4th of July.
Nothing was made of the fact this man was a Patriot; a Soldier who revered and loved his Country.
Last, but never, never least; no mention was made of his friends. Jim had tons of friends. But especially Janis and Matt. They had grown so very close these last few years. Those two were tirelessly devoted to him in his last weeks; last days.
It was they who were at his bedside as he drew his last breath. It was they who gave him the "okay" to stop the painful battle with life and ease into Heaven. It was they who best demonstrated that selfless, selfless last act of purest love.
For all that he could be; aggravating, exasperating, stubborn, mischievous, and prissy (yes, I said prissy); Jim was loyal, true, fun, mischievous (it works both ways people), and just a darn good guy.
And THAT was what should have been written.
All of it.
Janis and Matt deserved more; Jim would have wanted it.
Jim deserved more; he earned it.
So I've written this. It doesn't matter the year of birth or death; it matters what a person WAS.
JIM TORNEY was a damn fine man.
And we loved him.
God speed, old friend.
OnceAgain

'Tis the Night of Christmas

It's Christmas evening. Like Moore's "EVE" poem; all is quiet through the house. Skip is abed along with the pup and cat. I have the TV on as I'm on call for the Hospital.
It's my last shift. I don't miss it. I guess I should, but that's the reality of it.
Maybe it really was time for a change. Or maybe that wasn't the Unit for me. I enjoyed the Unit at my prior hospital more, but the Staff at this one better.
You can't have it both ways I suppose.
Reality can just suck sometimes.
And my mood has been a bit sour.
My friend who had lung cancer passed this past Wednesday in the wee hours of the morning. He made it almost 30 minutes after the midnight hour.
Now the significance of that? The day prior had been his 56th birthday.
The old coot said he wouldn't die before his birthday and leave me older than him. A gentleman to the end and a man of honor. He just had that one major fault. He could not leave cigarettes alone.
On a happier note; eldest daughter got her CPA! She's worked so hard. I can't describe all she's done. The kid's got heart and moxie.
I wish I had half the "stuff" my girls have in and about them. They are two terrific young women.
And now Christmas is winding to a close.
So is the year, actually.
Where did the time go? Weren't we just ringing in'09 a few days ago?
I thought so. I remember being in Tallahassee with the Family.
Then the year just tumbled forward. Roughly, too.
I thought it started off well. The new job at the College, the Unit was challenging, and I was bumpimg along okay.
Then Uncle William passed and the LAG's - as I refer to them - got nasty about Estate stuff; well it got busy. Switching hospitals made it busier. Doing that while teaching and managing an Estate was probably not the smoothest move. I like to learn things the hard way. Then we piled the remodel of the house in on the list. Did I mention the contractor trouble? Thought not. Well, there was that too. Cost us. A lot. Time and about $2,000.00. OUCH!
Skip's paying for that one by the way. He insisted on THAT dude.
And just as we thought we had a handle on things and were catching our breath; the cancer hit. Worse for him, yes. But watching him; it tore you into pieces and ripped your soul.
And he did to himself. That is the hell of it.
Not easy to watch a loved one turn into a cachetic shadow. Morphine and its haze is indeed a blessing. And for him and his family and those of us who loved him too; Christmas Angels came early in the form of the Hospice personnel who c
ame and gave the tender care
all needed in those final days.
Ah, Christmas is coming to a close. The final minutes ticking a way. Time marching onward as it is want to do.
Time to count my blessings and close these musings in the quiet of this house.
OnceAgain