Even Death Is Not To Be Feared By One Who Has Lived Wisely

Warning: This post is sad and depressing...read at your own risk!

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
--John Donne

This was a tough weekend for me. A dear friend died on Friday night, and although we knew it was coming, the actual news of his death hit some members of my family hard. Gerald Smith was a dear friend of my grandmothers for well over 30 years. He recently moved to Atlanta for personal reasons, and therefore we got to see him a lot more. He was the one person alive who could keep my grandmother in line. ANd what I mean by that is that he took no gruff from her and would tell her to "hush up" and she would. If I ever said that to her she would go nuts on me.

Gerald did the most beautiful needlepoint and walking through his room yesterday was like walking through a museum. It brought me to tears, but I did my best to keep it in. Seeing the wall hangings, pillows, the Chinese screen, plus all the silver, and crystal and artwork...quite a collection. I would have spent hours just gazing at these beautiful works if I had been allowed.

His family is wonderful. For so long, it was just Gerald, but at his wake, to meet his brother, his wife, and their kids and nephews. They were wonderful to me, my grandmother, my parents. It was a delight to meet them all.

It is sad to lose such a gem of a human being. He made me laugh and was such a dear to have around and in my life. I feel very fortunate, but am sorry that I did not get more time with him. He spent some of Christmas Day with us and I feel quite blessed to have had that time with him. I think it hit my grandmother the hardest, as she has lost both men she has cared for in her life. I worry so that she will lose her will to live at any time...I really hope the promise of another great-grandchild will keep her kicking for a long time to come.

If I talk about this much more, I may have to crawl into bed and curl up into a ball for the week...so enough.

To lighten the heavy load above, here is a little Steven Wright humor for you:
"I had a friend who was a clown. When he died, all his friends went to the funeral in one car."