Friday, September 28, 2007
crisp breeze warm sun train song espresso tongue sublime softness of a brand-new sweater aching shoulders all those senses, so sharp
Posted at 4:01:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
That was a great funeral. I'm so glad I went, and that David and I were able to go together. Had to get up at 6 AM, and I don't think I slept a wink, but it was 100% worth it. Everything just came together perfectly, the whole thing... meeting at the airport at 7:30 AM (David drove all night, from Maryland up to Connecticut), talking together in the back of Tango as we flew (about Uncle Donald, and trying to understand why Dad decided it would be too difficult to come), David in the skinny grey 3-piece suit he wore to our wedding, me in my black dress and Chinese cloth shoes with orange flowers on the toes. Landed in Barre right on time; the rental car zoomed up to meet us, and Dean dropped us off in front of the church at ten minutes 'til 10.
Posted at 9:48:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
We were seated on the right hand side of the sanctuary, and as Uncle Donald's family filed in on the left, the looks of grief on their faces brought tears to my eyes. I loved feeling so raw. The first hymn was "In the Bulb There Is a Flower"; I found it in the book and handed it to David to hold as we stood, and I started to sing but couldn't continue without crying, the words were so perfect and so moving, so I just stood and listened to David. I had never heard the song before, but they're the type of lyrics I would have found moving under any circumstances, I think... just something about those sorts of winter/spring images really affect me in a deep way that I don't totally understand.
The second hymn was "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," which I'd never heard before either, but it was also insanely appropriate and moving. I was able to sing it, but it had a strange little refrain about "I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free..." which was really impossible to get through without breaking down a bit, because I was happy that he had died (he had Lou Gehrig's Disease the last few years of his life, and it was time for him to be free) but of course I was also sad at the same time, because I'll miss him. (It was really weird not seeing or hearing him there.) So great! I love LOVE feeling this stuff.
The minister clearly knew Uncle Donald well, and the things he shared were extremely insightful, with just the right mix of faith and humor (Uncle Donald was a joker, always playful with words). I wished Mom and Dad were there to hear some of the things he said about him. (And, some of the things he said about him reminded me of Dad.) He also mentioned that he had helped the family choose the hymns together with Uncle Donald, and that he could have sworn Uncle Donald started singing (even though he was unable to talk anymore at that point).
Uncle Donald's children and some of his grandchildren went up and shared memories, and each one's part was entirely different and entirely them. (Larry alone didn't speak, which I totally understood and which was also very him.) They were all quite wonderful. I sobbed for an instant when Wendy made reference to happy memories of going to the cottage. (I really wasn't crying nonstop or anything, honest! Just a bit, at times, feeling it. That lovely protracted state of being right on the edge.) Walter resembles his father so much, and even sounds like him, almost (but he doesn't talk as fast!).
The final hymn was "Eternal Father, Strong To Save," which I recognized as the one Diane and I found so incongruous at Grandmother's funeral. (I wrote on ALB at the time, "Diane and I kept exchanging laughing looks, sitting close together, unable to keep from smiling at the odd refrain in the inexplicable hymn about the sea.) But it made total sense at Uncle Donald's funeral! (He was in the Navy during the Korean War.) It wasn't bizarre at all, it was perfect. Mighty ocean deep. (Uncle Donald must've picked it for Grandmother's funeral!)
After the service, there was a "light lunch" reception in the basement of the church (it was really neat how the building felt palpably cooler as you descended), and we lined up to offer our condolences to Aunt Myrna and all our cousins. A. Myrna really seemed to appreciate our being there, and Bettie kept talking and talking to me so that the rest of the line started going around and skipping over her! I love Bettie's wonderfully endearing flightiness. (When I talked to Larry I reassured him that some people can speak and some people can't, and I can't imagine being able to do it, either.)
They had lots of photos out on a table, and David and I flipped through a big album from their 50th Anniversary party (which we went to) (and there were an awful lot of pictures of me in it!) and one of family photos through the years, which was extremely well done. We snailed so much looking at the photos that by the time we were finished there was hardly any food left, but we are both non-eaters at events like that anyway, so David had a tiny little crustless triangular chicken sandwich and one grape, and I had a tiny little crustless triangular cream-cheese-and-olive sandwich. A zillion relatives and people came up to us and were terribly pleased to see us there, but we are both horrible with faces and didn't know who half of them were!! They all seemed to recognise us, but were were clueless. We didn't let on, of course. (It's kind of hard, when someone comes up to you, all delighted to see you there, and says, "Give our regards to your parents!" to reply, "Uh... okay, but who are you???") (Plus, even if they'd told us, we would have forgotten two seconds later.) We did know some of them at least.
Some nice people we did not know (Healey relatives) offered to give us a ride to the burial service at the cemetery, and Wendy rounded everyone up and we followed in a super-long funeral procession. (When we were sitting waiting for everyone to get into their cars and the procession to begin, I kept feeling like I'd look out the window and see Uncle Randy walking, but he wasn't able to be there either.) The cemetery was about a half an hour away, but the people we were riding with were really nice and it was enjoyable talking to them. It was a full military burial with a three-volley salute and a bugler who played taps, and the flag-folding ceremony and everything. It was very solemn and lovely, and the veterans' cemetery was the quietest, most beautiful location. Walter gave David and me each a rifle shell from the shots that were fired.
We met Dean back at the church (he had lunch with a friend who lives in the area) and flew home, dodging big maze-like storm clouds and listening to very busy radio interactions between pilots and ATC, stopping at Jaffrey for lobster rolls, then continuing down lower, flying VFR with the radio off (the whole rest of the trip was IFR), David and I again talking together in back. I loved the so many instances of similarities between us--those moments of "me too!" where we both felt the same way about something (e.g., liking bumps) or realized we shared the same odd trait (such as an utter inability to remember what other people look like). David loves flying in Tango, the same way I do. You can tell he appreciates it, enjoys it, and thinks it's cool. Back at MMK, he and I rode together in his truck, following Dean to our house, and I gave him pillows to crash on our couch before driving back to Maryland again. I woke him up to leave at midnight.
[Edit: I actually wrote most of this entry Saturday night/Sunday AM.]
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
"Is this your daughter?" "No, she's my friend. She drives a racecar and I tell her where to go."
Posted at 10:44:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
I was trying to pick out a sympathy card this afternoon to send to Uncle Donald's family, and there were so many good ones, it was really really hard to choose. I kept tearing up reading them all. I kind of love that. :-)
Posted at 7:06:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Happy Special Birthday, MUD! Your birthday is clearly an anti-jinx day (the opposite of mine), for me at least: 1) prettiest sweater ever arrives unexpectedly, 2) found out from the Whole Foods tea lady that there's an endless supply of Sweet Matcha, because they serve a drink at their tea & coffee stand that uses it (so I bought two more packages!), and 3) the sunglasses people at Solstice were super-nice and let me have a brand new pair of sunglasses to replace my snapped-like-a-wishbone ones, even though they're really supposed to have me mail the broken ones in to the company. They also had one more copy of my sunglasses in stock, so I bought it as a kanban and now I have two, so I am set for life! Well, maybe not life but a long time.
Posted at 5:12:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
Posted at 2:25:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
!!! I just got a UPS package from Wilkes-Barre PA (!), and it's my new prettiest-sweater-ever sweater! I didn't even know they shipped it! I ordered it online on Friday, because the store didn't have my size. Oh man... I love it.
I'm getting low on Sweet Matcha already. (That A Dong stuff was no substitute.) I love the smell of matcha. Just love it. When you first open the package each time, and inhale.
Posted at 1:24:00 PM by Laura W. Petix.
I was just trying to remember what happened this weekend and my brain totally blanked. Then I remembered that I took pictures. On Saturday we flew IFR to Jaffrey (maybe the last time of the season, but I hope not) (they close October 14th, but we can pretty much only go on weekends now, because the airport closes at dusk). I kept moaning while eating my lobster roll (as usual) and I made another customer giggle when I told Dean he had to carry our tray because it was too heavy. I don't know why I always make Kimball customers giggle so much. (Just looking at that table we sat at last time was cracking me up.) Anyway, it was a gorgeous day. As we were flying low near Mount Monadnock, some people waved at us from the ground! They were up on a hill, and they looked really big! I've never seen people waving at us from up in the air before... it was neat! I took some pictures of Mount Monadnock. It looked tons bigger than usual, since we were down low instead way up above it. (Mt. Muh is 3,165 feet high.) On the way back, the cloud layer below us looked like a big ocean.
I also got to see (and use) the sunvisor covers I made for Tango. (The visors were previously just tinted plastic, so they didn't do a great job of blocking out bright sun.) One end is hand-stitched shut, so the stitches in that one part look a little Frankenstein-y up close (the others are all invisible) but I'm probably too picky. The covers fit really tight and smooth, and they work great.
Yesterday we went on probably our final Block, and the weather was really really nice. We hounded to Pots & Kettles and sat in the sun. (Distance: 9.64 miles; Average: 9.2 mph; Max Speed: 24.1 mph; Time: 1:2'40.) There was almost no one there. I took it easy because my knee's injured from NEAC. Bweel's was closed for the season, and it was Froozie's last day. I think Froozie's should open a branch in South Kona.
The arm of my new best-sunglasses-in-the-universe SNAPPED off like a wishbone when I was about to put them on, so I have to get them repaired/replaced. (They are still under warranty.) I kept reliving the SNAP. I hope I can get new ones quick, because they have become indispensable!
