APRIL 24th

As time passes, and each of us reflects on the two family members that we lost on this day, we have reason to appreciate their examples and their influence in our lives. We have our own memories and our own stories to share about Gary and Susan. These memories warm our hearts and inspire us to be better people.

As Nina and I talked in April, we discussed two quotations that we both feel represent the man that Gary became. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke) "Some men see things as they are and ask, Why? I dream things that never were and ask, Why not?" (George Bernard Shaw) Gary will always be remembered as the man with the courage to follow his convictions. And, although his dream has not yet been realized in this world of ours, we can help that dream become a reality. We can also choose to have the courage to live as an example of our Christian faith, looking beyond our own daily challenges and reaching out to others.

Eddie and I had a different kind of conversation. He has just survived the hurtle of the first year without Susan. He wanted to remember happier times by sharing this story. On their way home from one of their many traveling adventures in the camper, Eddie and Susan stopped for gas in Jackson, Missouri. As they pulled up to the gas pumps, they could hear a woman with a foreign accent announcing customer fees over the loud speaker. When Eddie went to pay his fee for the gas, the lady charged him $8.80. Returning to the camper, Eddie found Susan wondering how he knew that woman. Eddie told her, "I don't know that woman." "Well", Susan replied, "I could clearly hear her saying, 'Eddie, Eddie'." "No", Eddie told her, "she was saying $8.80!" Susan looked at Eddie doubtfully, and Eddie was never sure if he convinced her that he did not know that woman. However, he did know that anytime that Susan call him "8-80" that he was in trouble!