Sounds like a wonderful cherished friendship. That was a very nice
tribute.
-----Original Message-----
From: Billy Lang <[email protected]>
To: quad-list <[email protected]>
Sent: Mon, Jan 14, 2013 1:20 pm
Subject: [QUAD-L] Fwd: My Buddy Ray
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
