An Old Man Died I didn't really know him, never got his name. But he was a fixture in my neighborhood, always sitting outside his apartment building on Harding Avenue, just watching the world go by. I often went by on my bike and we waved to each other for almost a decade now. Now and then he would be there when I was jogging and I would stop and talk. He was older than me, maybe not by much - two old men ragging on the world. Once, a few months ago I saw him walking back from the store one block from his home. He motioned me over and asked me to take his groceries to his apartment. He was having a ruf time walking but got home and seemed alright. For the past couple of weeks he wasn't there sitting by the sidewalk, an unusual amount of time not to see him. Last week while jogging I asked a neighbor of his if she knew where he was - in he hospital she said. Today, as I ran by I saw two men working on his door. I asked and they said he died two days ago. I'll miss his smile and wave.
The smile and wave will always be there in your memory. Just as it is meant to be. Thank you for sharing this.
yeah shale, you may not know each at a deep level, yet a wave and a kind word or two can make both peoples day. down the street from where i live, growing up was a childhood friend and his older brother greg. i never knew greg too well. when i moved back to san antonio about 5 years ago; i found out greg had inherded his parents house. greg would wave at me and, stop and speak with me too. greg was about 5 years older then i am. he had one hell of a bad habit of chain smoking. at 35 years of age, he developed oral cancer. the cancer took his life about a year ago. a year later; when i take my daily walk and, i pass by his house, i still expect to see him working in his woodshop and,to see him smile and wave as i walk by. some people you may never know very well and yet, they did give us some small bit of gold to our lives.
I'm sorry to hear that. I always get sad when I find out that regular customers at work have passed away. We have a large elderly customer base, but sometimes it will be months before I'll find out what happened to certain ones.
Death is an inevitable part of the life process. At this stage of my ongoing adventure here on earth I'm seeing the physical death as a transcending to whatever next stage the spiritual journey takes after our completion of our time here. Perhaps Shale is sort of savoring the privilege of being able to connect with the dude while he was still here. We diminish short term when we lose a friend but having the experience of knowing someone will make us greater long term.
Remembering is an act of resurrection, each repetition a vital layer of mourning, in memory of those we are sure to meet again. ~Nancy Cobb, in "In Lieu of Flowers"
at least he was old Im still having trouble driving over the skids marks where a school friend was killed this year...damn I wish they would go away
a young couple over the road were gifted with a brand new baby boy two days ago :sunny: i'm sorry for your loss ... remember what you learned from him
old age is so odd to me. to think that the only memories of me one day could be one similar to shale's....
Today I rode past his apartment building and saw some men out front. I asked about him and they told me his name was Michael and he had lived there for 14 years.
shale you are a great person. Most would have probably just ignored him. You made a friend, adn I am sorry you lost him. beautiful message. and I am sure he is doing great things in the next life. *hugs*
