Sometimes, the hardest part is where to start. I'm still feeling the shock of the news of cousin Gordon's death. Two of my sisters and a neice posted comments to last night's posting. They reminded me of more things about Gordie. That, in the late Sixties, as he came of age, Gordie grew a beard and let his hair grow to his shoulders.
Many of us did these things, including me. But Gordie took on an other-worldly look, very much like the idealized portraits of Jesus familiar to all of us through Western art. It's not a stretch to say he was the spitting image.
Maybe the reason for his resemblance to a spiritual and inspirational leader was his inner quality of organic peacefulness. Plus I don't think there was a mean bone in his body.
But he was an old soul, and the old souls among us sometimes depart this earth prematurely, before the rest of us resolve our own mortal battles.
***
My own heart is heavy tonight, not just because of my cousin's death, but lots of things, many ineffable.
I expected the thrill of watching my son's basketball to be a positive distraction from what otherwise was a day of depression, and it was. In the first half, he and his teammates were out of synch, and by halftime they were way behind, 15-4. He missed all four shots he took, had one turnover and one personal foul. He had no steals, blocks, or rebounds.
But all that changed in the second half as he and his teammates mounted a ferocious comeback. At the end they fell just short, 19-22 but they made it extremely exciting. A long shot at the buzzer missed, barely. When I tried to total up his stats, I believe Aidan scored four points, had five steals, 2 blocks and five rebounds in that wild second half.
Again and again, he and his mates aggressively took the ball away from the other team, and engineered fast breaks -- always the most exciting plays in basketball. They didn't win, but their opponent went away sighing a big sigh of relief.
Because had there been another minute or so on the clock, the outcome might well have been different.
***
I truly hate being reminded of the hole in my own soul, but these days it is inevitable. Bad feelings are afoot; difficult days lie ahead.
This too shall pass (I hope).
***
BTW, this my 400th post in nine months! Thank you for reading some of them, my dear readers. It matters to me to have an audience. I appreciate your visits.
* Roy Orbison
3 comments:
When I talked to Aunt Reta last night, she mentioned that Gordon was quite religious and followed the Christian Science faith of our grandparents. She told me he read his bible daily. This seems like it supports our perception of his strong spiritual side.
Carole
Gordon always seemed on the edge of something to me; he was quiet, thoughtful and gentle. I am so glad he had his family around him this past year.
Kathy
David,
So many thanks for your kind reflections of Gordon.
We've long admired your caring, sensitive nature. Your words have touched us deeply.
Dan
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