Might as well get this over with
Part 3
***(If you don’t care, I understand, just skip to the bottom)
When my GF was a sophomore in high school, 1944, his uncle offered to put him through college as an engineer but he had to embrace the Lutheran faith. (There is a book, Zion on the Mississippi[\i], that documents my GGF coming to the U.S. from Bremen as part of the Lutheran movement which is pretty cool.) My GF refused. I guess it’s pretty hard to be convinced in God when your Dad dies when you are so young. His uncle never talked to him again.
Around the same time somebody left a baby on the doorstep of my GGM's. I guess stuff like that really happened in the “olden days”. They found out much later in life that the baby was the 14th child of some Irish broad. Go figure. So with money tighter than ever and WWII still raging, my GF lied about his age and joined the navy two weeks after his 17th birthday. Fate smiled on him once again as he was made the ship’s baker. He got a lot of preferential treatment (booze) from the Captain and other officers on board.
As he was at sea his mind wasn’t preoccupied with the war or his family so much as he was with my GM. He wrote her romantic poems and love notes almost every single day. My GM was a very attractive woman that “had a lot of male suitors”. I guess these days you would call her slutty. Upon his discharge in 1946, my GF wasn’t going to be deterred by the competition. He never told me exactly how he finished on top but I’m guessing it was similar to how he ended the great coal competition years earlier. I do know that my GM didn’t want to get married or tied down to one man but she (obviously) went ahead with it anyway. I understand these feelings last a good year until she finally embraced the idea.
On the ship my GF met what would end up being his best friend, Bob. My Grandparents ended up going on 29 ocean cruises with Bob and his wife over the years. Bob is still alive today and he and his wife were in attendance for the services. Bob is a big guy, very old school, with a great sense of humor that sounds like W.C. Fields when he speaks. He is also a perv and does nothing to hide that fact. About 12 years ago I brought a lesbo porn on one of our fishing trips and he watched it on one of those little VCR combo units, while he ate chicken wings, with his nose almost touching glass. to this day he still call it "that lickity split movie". After the wake service I offered my hand to help him up and he declined “because I wasn’t pretty enough”. So I motioned over to Mrs. SLB and asked her to “help get Bob up”. He didn’t really need the help but as he got to his feet he says “man that felt good” to which Mrs. SLB replied, “not as good as it was for me Bob”. Still smiling from ear-to-ear, as he was staring at Mrs. SLB’s breasts and legs, he asked her to be his nurse should he ever get sick. His sweet wife at his side just laughed and said “whatever Bob”. Man that sounds familiar.
Thankfully the wake was only a couple of hours and wasn’t a traditional wake that lasted all freaking day and night. I was a little pissed that my younger cousins didn’t have some booze like at a traditional wake though. Of course they’ve never been through anything like this before so they didn’t have the experience I do. As I approached the coffin and saw my GF laying there (he looked great!) it was tough to stomach. A stream of tears started pouring down the sides of my face but I gritted my teeth, I could see Bob watching me out of the corner of my left eye and my Father out of my right. I needed to stop. As I stared at my GF all I could think was I had to be strong for my Father, Bob and my cousins.
I was a paw bearer along with 5 of my other GF’s other grandsons. We brought the casket in and were instructed to sit in the front row on the right. This church is so tiny that I couldn’t see the front three rows on the other side of the casket, which means I couldn’t see my Dad. I obviously could see my 5 cousins sitting next to me with their heads down the entire service. I made a point to keep my chin up, my eyes dry, and to give them reassuring pats on the back.
After the mass and we got done loading the casket in the hearse, I had the far back left, I turned and my Dad was right there. He handed me the keys to the car and asked me to drive for the procession to the mausoleum. I took the keys and hugged him. He then started bawling hysterically. Thankfully his car was right there first in line behind the hearse so I quickly opened side passenger door, put my hand on top of his head and got him in much like a Secret Service agent would protecting the President.
Not a word was spoken on the way to my GF’s final resting place and little did I know but in small town, people pull their car over to the shoulder when a funeral procession is passing by. It seemed so appropriate for somebody that was so respected. The Navy Honor Guard was waiting for us and when arrived and as we went to take the casket out of the hearse, it started to rain. It was the coldest rain I’ve ever felt. Thankfully the final blessing was inside. After the priest said a few more prayers, it was officially over. I thought. Bob, wearing his Navy hat, approached the casket, saluted, then turned and immediately walked to his car. I don’t think some of the family even saw him but it was something else. I was the second person out of the building, I really needed a smoke. As I exited I noticed it wasn’t raining, in fact, the sun was shining. I looked at the plaque that would mark my Grandparents final resting place. There it was, my last name, now that is a first for me.
***Thanks Shuke, Brad and everybody else. I just had to get this out of me. This isn’t anything I would dream of sharing with my B&M friends for a whole lot of reasons. Well, other than my cousin/big brother…who just walked into my office. It’s going to be tough but I’ll be alright.
I would like to leave you with this piece of prose that my GF wrote when he finally accepted the disease he and my GM were afflicted with.
Wherever she is, I will go
And wherever I am, she will come
I know this is true
Because we had a rare and wonderful bond.
I loved her completely
And I believe she loved me in the same way
We are apart for just a while
I believe we will be together again.
Wherever she goes,
I will follow
Wherever she leads,
She knows I will be there
Our love has no timeline
No barriers at all
She is mine and I am hers
We were meant to be together
For our love is so strong
Not even death can rend it apart.