A Celebration of Life

Speaking of death, my own brother passed away last night. Stage four cancer. There's been a lot of mourning and grieving over the years and it often causes one to lose sight of the celebration of life. Remembering the good times, the fun times.

I'm the youngest in my family. I remember when I was young my brother was a welder and went to a strike vote. He brought with him a three foot piece of two by two with black taped wrapped around one end for a handle. On the other end he wrote in big bold letters with a black felt marker the name of one of the managers that was causing problems. He stood at the door with his arms folded standing with this two by two so everyone could see the name written on it. He wanted that manager to know he was watching him. After that, they made him a foreman. They wanted him on their side. That was my memory. My brother was always a tough guy.

When I first started doing the blog I was anonymous until my real name was plastered all over the local papers. When that happened, my brother called up my daughter and said "Tell your father to leave my friends alone." Turns out he was a faithful customer of the black door. I spoke with him and said what about this and that. He just shook his head and said that's the price of doing business. Pops is a 60 year old man. Leave my friends alone. Message received.

When the recession hit in the /80's my brother went to New Zealand and got work welding in the ship yard. He loved it there and got dual citizenship. He came back after he had a stroke. He enjoyed sailing, cooking and exotic plants. He has left quite a coin and stamp collection behind for his nieces and nephews. That's a lost art.

The other day my daughter sent me a picture she took of me outside the temple a while back. I was kinda shocked and said what a sad old man. You could see the sorrow in my face. Years ago when my daughter was in high school and we were struggling she told me how much she could relate to a Green Day song boulevard of broken dreams. It broke my heart. There is one thing a parent wants for their children and that is for them to be happy.

I dusted off the scriptures yesterday and pulled out "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." I always thought that was Proverbs. Turns out it's in Ecclesiastes. The book that says " To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;" The Byrds sang about it. It's time to do some gardening.

On the way home this morning I was walking into my unit and I saw in a window of a condo there were lights from a small Christmas tree. Already I thought. I guess that's their way of trying to find something to hope for. We all need hope. Where there is no vision the people will perish. So. Mr Tambourine Man. Play a song will ya. We all need something to look forward to so we do.