THOUGHTS ON LIFE AND GRADUATION

My best friend sat in his wheelchair days before death of his body at age 87. A truly man’s man, and to his great pleasure, a ladies man as well. Knowingly imperfect, he maintained integrity always.

As he sat there, head bowed, having necessarily lost grip on his confidence to take on everything and make it work, he said, with an uncharacteristic conviction of giving up, “Rip, I can’t do this”. He was speaking of going through the death of the body. My response, “Bill, my friend, you ARE doing it”.

He was quiet as I could feel his manly strength refilling him, not physically, but spiritually. He carried on, quietly, bravely, and left us two days later, during his physical sleep and spiritual awakening.

What remains of that big, strong body now sits in a small box on a table between the remainder of his last bottle of Wild Turkey whisky on one side, and a picture of the greatest bass fisherman I’ve ever known (him, of course) doing what he did so well.

He left this world about nine months ago. I am confident he was guided to the best bass lake in heaven.

I cannot find the words to capture the feelings I have for all this, probably because I can’t capture the feelings. They are strong, and so many.

I’m glad he will be there, smiling that giant grin to greet me upon my eventual arrival, and rushing to show me his lake and new boat.

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It is worth noteing that Bill spent his last days at my daughters home with his wife, my daughters mother and my ex-wife, who left me 20 years before this after 37 years of marriage, for her high school lover, who was guess who. I readily admitted that was one reason he was my best friend.

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Bill was and is family, forever — my spiritual brother. God works in mysterious, wonderful ways. But, I still miss him.