I have been accused of being a Mama's Boy. I did defend my mother against a fellow 6th grader, because my mother wore dresses, and his mother wore pants. It seems dumb now, but it was a big deal in the 6th grade. My mother introduced me to many things like Beatles music and James Bond movies. My father travelled a lot, so she sort of raised me.
When we put her and my father into Martha Franks Retirement Center in 1994, she already had a massive stroke in 1991. My brother and I felt it was just a matter of time before she passed on. We were all surprised that Daddy went first in 1999. Around Thanksgiving 2003, we got a call from the nurses at Martha Franks. Mother had stopped eating. My brother and I talked about it and told the nurses to force feed her. We were not prepared to lose her. They forced her to eat, and she got better. However, this was not the last call we got from the nurses. The same call every couple of months. The same answer from us each time.
But then in July 2004, we were all getting tired. It was obvious that Mother wanted to go to be with God in Heaven. She couldn't speak very well, but her actions spoke volumes. We got a call from the nurses, and we decided it was time to let her go. So on July 8, 2004, our mother joined our father, her sister and brothers, and many of her friends in Heaven.
My brother and I went to Greenwood to arrange for her burial next to Daddy in Magnolia Cemetery. We chose the cheapest casket that Blyth Funeral Home had, because all of the money had gone to take care of Mother. A few years before, Daddy's insurance money had dried up for Mother, so Martha Franks told us that any memorials at her death would be designated to Martha Franks to cover the cost of her bills. After everything was paid, my brother and I split the rest of the money left over. It was $16. Mother had wanted to be buried next to her parents in the cemetery in Heflin, Alabama, but the cost was just too much to do that. In 2013, my brother arranged to have a memorial stone placed in Heflin to honor our mother. We went down there and had a service. Mother would have liked that.
Mother was lying in repose at the funeral home, and they told us we could have a short time with her. My brother and his wife went in together, but I waited. I wanted to be alone with her. When I went into the room, there was music playing over the Muzak. As I stood there at the casket, the song "Till There Was You" began to play. That song was done by The Beatles in 1964. The same time my mother told me about them. That song was on the first Beatles album I ever had. That song was the one I was going to do at the auditions for the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, but I got sick and couldn't do it. I began to sing to her lying in the casket. To this day, I can't hear that song without tearing up. There were security cameras in the room, but I managed to slip a Paul McCartney pinback button into her casket without anyone seeing. Paul was her favorite Beatle. It was payback to her for changing my life. I guess it will be worth a whole bunch of money, if someone digs it up long into the future. We had a small graveside service for Mother. That was all she wanted. One day, I will buried alongside my parents at Magnolia Cemetery. There is one spot left in the family plot, and it is reserved for me. Maybe, put a James Bond DVD from the Sean Connery days in my casket. Thanks, Mother.
Friday, September 27, 2019
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Reunion
In 2001, my 30th high school reunion was coming up. I really don't like reunions much. I prefer to think of people as they were instead of how they are now. That may come from my time with Kare in Ft. Worth. If you don't know who she is, go back several stories and see the one on her. Anyway, Kare was very adamant about living in the now, which is why she didn't like pictures taken of her, because she didn't want to preserve the "now". But now, I had a co-worker who dared me to go to my reunion. She was the mother of one of my classmates. I accepted the dare.
I asked another co-worker if she would go with me to the reunion. We had been out a few times already, so it was natural for her to say yes. The reunion was at the Spring Valley Country Club. I guess there were about 100 of my classmates there. Some had died before now, and others had moved away, so that number was pretty good out of a class size of around 550. We actually had 601 in our senior class, but not all of them graduated.
When we got there, we found that some of these people brought their wives and a few brought dates, but most of them came alone. Maybe it was the cost of the tickets. I don't know. We had a DJ from one of the local radio stations, and I gave him a copy of The Cobbwebs cd that had just been released. There were many cliques in high school. Those cliques carried over into the reunion. I tried to hang with the old gang from our Forensics group, but they weren't real interested in including me in their conversation. I found a couple of friends sitting by themselves, so we went over and sat with them. They seemed happy to seem me. But, what was really strange was some reactions I got from a few others. There were girls (I call them girls because they were that age when we were in high school) who were hugging me. These were the same popular girls who didn't want to have anything to do with me, when we were in school. I was very confused. Why now? Had they seen my work in the movies, TV or stage? Had they read my published writings? Were they familiar with my music? Or, were they glad to see I was still alive after all the bullying I endured in school? Whatever the reason, I was glad to be noticed. Just 30 years too late.
We stayed until after they took the group picture, and then we left. I ran into an old friend who had become a respiratory doctor in Charleston. After talking to him for a couple of minutes, he remarked that I sounded like I had breathing issues. He was so right. I have been haunted by them ever since.
A few months later, I got an email from one of the guys who was there at the reunion. He had been one of the main bullies who made my life a living hell from junior high into high school. He said he had seen me at the reunion but didn't come over to speak to me, because he was too ashamed for what he had done to me all those years ago. He just wanted to apologize for all the pain and suffering that he had caused me. I accepted his apology, and now we have become friends. It is never too late to make amends. My 50th reunion is coming up in a couple of years. I may have to be dared to go to that one too.
I asked another co-worker if she would go with me to the reunion. We had been out a few times already, so it was natural for her to say yes. The reunion was at the Spring Valley Country Club. I guess there were about 100 of my classmates there. Some had died before now, and others had moved away, so that number was pretty good out of a class size of around 550. We actually had 601 in our senior class, but not all of them graduated.
When we got there, we found that some of these people brought their wives and a few brought dates, but most of them came alone. Maybe it was the cost of the tickets. I don't know. We had a DJ from one of the local radio stations, and I gave him a copy of The Cobbwebs cd that had just been released. There were many cliques in high school. Those cliques carried over into the reunion. I tried to hang with the old gang from our Forensics group, but they weren't real interested in including me in their conversation. I found a couple of friends sitting by themselves, so we went over and sat with them. They seemed happy to seem me. But, what was really strange was some reactions I got from a few others. There were girls (I call them girls because they were that age when we were in high school) who were hugging me. These were the same popular girls who didn't want to have anything to do with me, when we were in school. I was very confused. Why now? Had they seen my work in the movies, TV or stage? Had they read my published writings? Were they familiar with my music? Or, were they glad to see I was still alive after all the bullying I endured in school? Whatever the reason, I was glad to be noticed. Just 30 years too late.
We stayed until after they took the group picture, and then we left. I ran into an old friend who had become a respiratory doctor in Charleston. After talking to him for a couple of minutes, he remarked that I sounded like I had breathing issues. He was so right. I have been haunted by them ever since.
A few months later, I got an email from one of the guys who was there at the reunion. He had been one of the main bullies who made my life a living hell from junior high into high school. He said he had seen me at the reunion but didn't come over to speak to me, because he was too ashamed for what he had done to me all those years ago. He just wanted to apologize for all the pain and suffering that he had caused me. I accepted his apology, and now we have become friends. It is never too late to make amends. My 50th reunion is coming up in a couple of years. I may have to be dared to go to that one too.
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