remembered moments, like gems

News of a death: I grabbed today's local paper and on the front page read about the death of someone I knew.

Only knew him in passing -- working in same milieu.
And knew OF him, more than actually Knowing Him.

Thought right away of getting a Sympathy card to send to his son -- "the Family of..." -- and then I thought, I want to add something personal about the deceased -- pleasant memories to treasure and smile about. (You know -- sorry to hear of your dad's passing -- well of course, but what did he do when he was alive that we celebrate? what makes us grateful we knew him?) So I typed a note (because my handwriting is not always easy to read), and wrote about small moments and remembered conversations with the father.

I remembered one, and then three more came, with little effort -- I noted each one and then wrote them out. How he always called me "Kid" when he greeted me, during legislative sessions -- and about the time when he was so amused by a quote I told to him, that he went right across the lunch-room at the state capital to tell somebody else the quote, and to credit me for it, when in actuality somebody else had said it -- and how I felt a little awkward, like I had grabbed credit for someone else's wit, unintentionally -- but you know, once he thought it was funny, he had the Moment and there was no getting it back - ! That "genie was out of the bottle."
Stuff like that... just little, incidental conversations.

I think they'll like it.
I think his family will say, "Yeah, that's him, I can totally picture him saying it, just like that!"

Did my best.

He passed a week after Senator Byrd from West Virginia.
Byrd: 92;
our guy: 78.

-30-