Uncle Buzz ...May, 2010, Two months before I had the stroke

Some posts I forgot I had:


As some of you know, I made a trip with my Mom that ended up taking us into places we had no idea we would have to travel. Spiritually, mentally and physically it has been very difficult.

We left here the afternoon of May 18, travelled as far as I could safely go and stopped for the night, fully expecting to go on the next morning to Columbia, TN where my uncle was hospitalized. We received the call late that night that he had died. I had to look at my Mom and tell her that her best friend and only whole brother had passed from this life to the next. It wasn't easy.

We then had to plan what to do next and how to do it best. We decided that rather than go on into TN from KY we would have his body prepared and then picked up for a funeral in Indiana. After many phone calls we went to bed. But did we sleep that night? I don't remember.

The next morning we loaded the car and turned around to head north west rather than continue south as we had planned. We had breakfast ( I did make sure we had nourishing food ), then went to buy my uncle's burial clothing. Nothing fancy. He wasn't that type of man. We bought Levi jeans, a white t-shirt with a blue long-sleeved shirt to go over it. He left here as he lived here ... simple with no fuss.

We arrived about 6 hours later at the tiny town in Indiana where his mother and step-father and two half-brothers are buried. Mom was so nervous she wouldn't enter the funeral home until I finished a phone call from my brother. She didn't want to go in alone and I understood that. The funeral directors know Mom because of other family burials and were kind and gracious to us. They had everything waiting for us to choose what type of coffin; the crypt, flowers, songs, and took all the information for the obituary.

We left and then went to the motel that has housed various members of this family for years as they journeyed to their small town to bury a family member. A nice place considering the reason you're there. Very kind people who want to help in times of need. Did we sleep that night? I think so but wouldn't swear to it.

The next day we drove 50 miles round trip so Mom could buy flowers for the graves of her other family members. Remember, I said this is a small town. To drive that far to reach a WalMart proved it. It would have been a lovely drive under other circumstances. Death, unexpected as this one was, seems to mar things. At least for me. I concentrated on the road, not the scenery. I was so tired.

Thankfully later that day my sister Kay and my brother George arrived to be with us. I was so very grateful to see them. They gave strength as they gave hugs and I appreciated their coming early just to be with us.