>
> From: Billy Lang
> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2013 1:35 PM
> Subject: My Buddy Ray
>
> My Buddy Ray died last week. He had COPD and carried an oxygen tank along
> with him everywhere he went. A few years ago he contracted pneumonia. He was
> placed in a coma and put on a respirator. I never thought I would see him
> again but he pulled through. This completely changed my perception . From
> that day on I would never give up on anyone. Never in my realm of
> experiencing loved ones dying did I expect Ray to breathe on his own once he
> was taken off the respirator.
>
> Years later, after going out to eat with my parents, Bobbie and my wife
> Paula, Ray fell and broke his hip. It was the beginning of a long desperate
> battle that ended ultimately in his death. At the wake there were the same
> platitudes namely "it was his time", "he couldn't fight anymore" and "he is
> at rest now."
>
> Today, I got back on my old desktop computer and realized I had no new jokes.
> For at least the last five years Ray had been sending me emails of jokes,
> prayers, lessons on life, politics (mostly against Obama) and the occasional
> e-card. Now, Ray did not send one a day. He would send five or the occasional
> seven emails. Up until the middle of 2012 he would send the emails as
> attachments where you annoyingly had to click open the email he sent then
> click open the attachment and If the attachment opened a web address or a
> movie there was another click. It got so frustrating that I really didn't
> care if the email was funny.
>
> So, as a tribute to Ray, my Buddy, here’s a message he sent me in October,
> 2012 as an attachment:
>
>
> Just in case I'm gone tomorrow
>
> As I approach my mid-seventies, I am struck by the inevitability that the
> party must end. And one clear, cold morning after I'm gone, my wife will
> awaken in the warmth of our bedroom and she will be struck with the pain of
> learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore".
> No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone
> calls just to chat, no more "just one minute."
> Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never
> to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."
> So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's
> broken and heal it when it's sick.
> This is true for marriage.....And old cars. And children with bad report
> cards, And dogs with bad hips. And aging parents and grandparents. We keep
> them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
> Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law
> after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
> Life is important, like people we know who are special. And so, we keep them
> close!
> Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know how you
> really feel? The important thing is to let every one of your friends know
> your true feelings, even if you think they don't love you back.
>
>
> RIP Ray, I miss you and the emails.
>
> Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do!
>
> Billy
>
>
>
