...Uncle Ed and Hortensia...will forever be missed!....
I remember going to church after "Babe" and Uncle Ed had experienced their encounter with a skunk. Hortensia had soaked Uncle Ed in tomato juice to get rid of the skunk smell, and for a few days Uncle Ed was forced to sleep on the back porch...in the big glider swing...until he got the smell out of his system. Of course, Babe was happy because he could see Uncle Ed on the glider...all was well in Babe's little world.
A couple of years later, Uncle Ed got a respiratory infection...that led to pneumonia. His immune system wasn't able to fight it off very well, no matter what the doctors tried to do. Both Ed and Hortensia were now in their early 80's, Ed being the elder brother of my Dad's family, and was almost 16 years older than my Dad.
Uncle Ed had been in the hospital for a few days, and he had grown quite weak. I knew it was getting serious, they were giving Uncle Ed morphine drops and Father Gordon had just administered Last Rites.
On this night Uncle Ed was quietly sleeping at the hospital, and everyone in the family had been notified Uncle Ed was near...his death. I kept thinking to myself: "Death?...I can't imagine...what if there really was no God at all?....all the stuff we do, believe, and say...what if it was all just some ancient myths...like I have heard some say."
Uncle Ed passed that evening, and when he did, Hortensia was sitting in a chair beside him...holding his hand. Uncle Ed's oldest son "Eddie" had arrived to be with his Dad ( Eddie was born from a former marriage of Uncle Ed's, yet Eddie and Hortensia had seemed to "hit it off"...from the time they first met.)
Eddie spoke up shortly after Uncle Ed had passed and asked everyone to leave the room for a while and give Hortensia some time to be alone. As I passed by Hortensia, she seemed serene and touched my arm as I passed, still holding on to Uncle Ed's hand with the other.
It was probably a good 15 to 20 minutes later, when Eddie decided to go back into the room and check on Hortensia. That's when things got a little crazy. I could hear Eddie start to scream for a nurse...as soon as he had walked in the room...and everything seemed to go into a blur for a moment.Two nurses came running into Uncle Ed's room along with a Doctor.
I really don't know why I did it...but I saw an opening to go into Uncle Ed's room...and so I did. There was Hortensia, still sitting serene in the chair next to Uncle Ed...still holding his hand...
she too...had passed....
Mom told us Hortensia had died of a broken heart...their love was too strong to be separated from one another.
I thought to myself how Uncle Ed had taken some "grief" from how the church frowned on divorce...and with Uncle Ed having at least 3 that I know of....his "soul perhaps weighed in the balance".
Yet, from all the "ashes of his past relationships", Uncle Ed and Hortensia seemed to be a match made in Heaven.
God seems to make life really confusing....one minute you feel like you are on your way to Hell...and the next minute He is there to help you out. Hmmm?
I am grateful for Father Gordon, he liked Uncle Ed...regardless of his past... wish God was like that.......just sayin'...
Uncle Ed's funeral was really beautiful, and you talk about crying.... this "story book" finish to the lives of Uncle Ed and Hortensia had touched many a hearts.
There were relatives of our family that came...that we had not seen in years, hugging one another and weeping on each other's shoulders.
My Mom, who had "distance" as she called it between the lead organist of our parish and her, were now sipping coffee together and working on a musical arrangement.
It's weird how when someone dies...it actually can serve to bring others together.
I couldn't help but wonder...maybe this Christian thing isn't about following rules, understanding all its Laws, or even making deals with God...so He won't turn against you.
Maybe it's about...having a friendship with Him. I couldn't imagine...have God as...a friend.
Anyway, back to reality....this "God-friend" of mine....just took my own Dad...so much for being friends...huh?
I remember going to church after "Babe" and Uncle Ed had experienced their encounter with a skunk. Hortensia had soaked Uncle Ed in tomato juice to get rid of the skunk smell, and for a few days Uncle Ed was forced to sleep on the back porch...in the big glider swing...until he got the smell out of his system. Of course, Babe was happy because he could see Uncle Ed on the glider...all was well in Babe's little world.
A couple of years later, Uncle Ed got a respiratory infection...that led to pneumonia. His immune system wasn't able to fight it off very well, no matter what the doctors tried to do. Both Ed and Hortensia were now in their early 80's, Ed being the elder brother of my Dad's family, and was almost 16 years older than my Dad.
Uncle Ed had been in the hospital for a few days, and he had grown quite weak. I knew it was getting serious, they were giving Uncle Ed morphine drops and Father Gordon had just administered Last Rites.
On this night Uncle Ed was quietly sleeping at the hospital, and everyone in the family had been notified Uncle Ed was near...his death. I kept thinking to myself: "Death?...I can't imagine...what if there really was no God at all?....all the stuff we do, believe, and say...what if it was all just some ancient myths...like I have heard some say."
Uncle Ed passed that evening, and when he did, Hortensia was sitting in a chair beside him...holding his hand. Uncle Ed's oldest son "Eddie" had arrived to be with his Dad ( Eddie was born from a former marriage of Uncle Ed's, yet Eddie and Hortensia had seemed to "hit it off"...from the time they first met.)
Eddie spoke up shortly after Uncle Ed had passed and asked everyone to leave the room for a while and give Hortensia some time to be alone. As I passed by Hortensia, she seemed serene and touched my arm as I passed, still holding on to Uncle Ed's hand with the other.
It was probably a good 15 to 20 minutes later, when Eddie decided to go back into the room and check on Hortensia. That's when things got a little crazy. I could hear Eddie start to scream for a nurse...as soon as he had walked in the room...and everything seemed to go into a blur for a moment.Two nurses came running into Uncle Ed's room along with a Doctor.
I really don't know why I did it...but I saw an opening to go into Uncle Ed's room...and so I did. There was Hortensia, still sitting serene in the chair next to Uncle Ed...still holding his hand...
she too...had passed....
Mom told us Hortensia had died of a broken heart...their love was too strong to be separated from one another.
I thought to myself how Uncle Ed had taken some "grief" from how the church frowned on divorce...and with Uncle Ed having at least 3 that I know of....his "soul perhaps weighed in the balance".
Yet, from all the "ashes of his past relationships", Uncle Ed and Hortensia seemed to be a match made in Heaven.
God seems to make life really confusing....one minute you feel like you are on your way to Hell...and the next minute He is there to help you out. Hmmm?
I am grateful for Father Gordon, he liked Uncle Ed...regardless of his past... wish God was like that.......just sayin'...
Uncle Ed's funeral was really beautiful, and you talk about crying.... this "story book" finish to the lives of Uncle Ed and Hortensia had touched many a hearts.
There were relatives of our family that came...that we had not seen in years, hugging one another and weeping on each other's shoulders.
My Mom, who had "distance" as she called it between the lead organist of our parish and her, were now sipping coffee together and working on a musical arrangement.
It's weird how when someone dies...it actually can serve to bring others together.
I couldn't help but wonder...maybe this Christian thing isn't about following rules, understanding all its Laws, or even making deals with God...so He won't turn against you.
Maybe it's about...having a friendship with Him. I couldn't imagine...have God as...a friend.
Anyway, back to reality....this "God-friend" of mine....just took my own Dad...so much for being friends...huh?
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