The
call to Dorothy's funeral came unexpectedly
in
an email from a old, old friend - Sad news it had for me.
Your
childhood friend's Mom passed away,
the
funeral's very soon.
She
doesn't expect you to come down,
but
it's Monday afternoon
at
Wolf Creek and she thought
that
you would like to know
even
if circumstances were such
that
you could not go.
Life
goes on here for us all
Here's
her number you can call,
It's
a graveside service only,
I
think she'll be really lonely
I
didn't know who else to tell,
I
hope that you and yours are well.
But
to me life had been long and hard, and the past so long ago,
And
I had since grown old and tired - I did not want to go
(anywhere).
So
I put a card into the mail and hoped that my friend knew
I'd
heard the news about her loss and that the card would do
The
call to Judy's funeral came the very day
I
would have made the journey. "Sad news," I heard Mark say.
"In
the wee hours of the night, Shellie's Mom passed away
We're
short-handed and we need your help
can
you come in to work today?
Did
I need an excuse, did I feel a pang for not answering my old friend's call
-
As
I worked the register, carried out drinks, stacked dishes in the hall,
I
could not help but think of her as I glanced at the clock on the wall.
I
wonder was the weather nice.
I
hope that people came.
I
wonder how the service went,
I
hope it didn't rain.
But
it was all so long ago
I'm
surprised she still knows my name!
But
now I kind of wish I 'd gone
the
distance just the same
But
what happened to me the next day
came
as the biggest surprise
It
was as if God dropped two angels
right
before my eyes
Sherry
and Judy Goodin from down around Wallace way
peeked
in the door, and waved at me as they wandered into the cafe!
You
look like your grandmother Helen
as
you walk toward us down the aisle,
Not
many left would see that,
I
answered them with a smile.
And
tho Wallace was only an hour away,
it
seemed like they traveled whole worlds that day,
across
all the years, and through all the tears,
to
remind me of life back then
and
when I sat down to join them a bit,
I
inquired of my friend.
I
heard Dorothy's funeral was Monday.
Yes,
we were there,
they sighed.
It
was a lovely service.
Folks
came from far and wide -
about
thirty all in all were there,
not
bad for a group so old
And
as they talked, my memory's eye could see it all unfold.
"Does
Sally know what she'll do now?" was the question I asked
then.
We
hope it's not too hard on her for her mother was her dear friend.
Within
me stirred a fresh desire to get in touch again.
I'm
so glad to hear your voice, Sally said when she picked up the phone
I've
had a lot of time to think
these
years I've been alone
Did
you know Mom thought a lot of you -
and
your grandparents Claude and Helen,
and
I have listened many years to the stories she loved telling,
about
them and many others from the old neighborhood -
I
wish I would have written it down for us to have for good
like
the time she and your aunt Marjorie both their beaus did meet
in
Kingman and double-dated in
the
car with the trundle seat ...
As
she talked on, the forgotten faces and places of our youth
sprang
back to life in my memory like old forgotten truth.
I
could see it again so vividly which once had faded to gray
I
wish I had Mom to talk to,
if only for one more day,
And
I wish that we lived closer, but you had to move away
and
this means more to me than flowers, our visit here today
And
all I could say was, Sally Jo, I feel the same way -
and
I'd be honored if you'd consider this my funeral bouquet,
to
you and your family for Dorothy and our memories of yesterday.
I
went to Judy's funeral and heard the old gospel tune
and
the stories of a wonderful life that ended far too soon
and
how she was now in a better place,
waiting
to see us again by God's Grace,
and
inbetween the lines, I swear I could
see,
Dorothy's
brown eyes smiling down upon me.
So
clear they were, and dark as coal, as Sally's eyes were blue.
She
seemed to be saying to me as I sat, “I’m alright now too.”
The
procession followed the winding road
deep
deep into the old cemetary
and
we said our farewells under stately old trees
and
for a while there in Summer did tarry
And
afterwards a reception in Judy's cafe
all
her recipes served up with such love that day -
to
cheer grieving hearts as they went on their way.
And
on one wall I was so startled to find
Another
reminder of life left behind,
A
painting from Wallace, a place without time,
In
such strange ways our lives
God
together does bind
in
a crazy quilt fashion of His Own Design
He
sews us together the old and the new
the
past and the present
the
grass with the dew.
And
what it all means I can't really say
except
that we should take time each day
to
be good friends and to be good neighbors
because
nothing else is worth our life's labors,
because
time is short, and when it all ends
what
would life be without family and friends?
For
I remember now when life was still new
how
my Sally Jo's light shone the brightest,
she
was the best dressed and of the whole class,
her
long yellow hair was the lightest.
Her
eyes were so blue, with a shy freckled grin
that
day she asked me to be her best friend
I
was a new student and needed one then
so
we shared all our crushes on handsome young men
and
giggled and whispered our longings of them.
Yes
what would life be without family and friends -
no
memories to see us through to the end?
So
I ask you to forgive this homespun verse
worked
on in haste for the time is so terse
but
I felt such a need to share with you this story
while
the flowers are still fresh for Judy and Dorothy.