Another Departure

I’ve written before about one of the toughest aspects of getting old, the increased rate for the departure of friends and family. Our family was hit with another body blow yesterday with the death of my brother-in-law, Bill, married to my younger sister. He’d been hospitalized since last summer and put up a gallant fight against a variety of serious ailments. My sister was at his side constantly as he moved between different hospitals and rehab centers. I visited him when he was in a Worcester hospital shortly before I came down to Panama. As always, during that visit he was upbeat and preparing to get home to be with his beloved wife.

R.I.P. Brother

Bill immediately fit into the family when he first arrived with my sister in 2012. My sister had had incredibly bad luck with the men in her life. That all changed with Bill. She finally had a guy who appreciated her and her incredible ability to love. It was so cool to hear them send their professions of love to each other via Facebook. They were unashamedly in love and wanted the world to know, marrying in 2015. The first time Bill visited us, he and Soxfather hit it off in grand style over their shared love of sports.

All the kids and Grandkids Became "His" 

Over the years, my sister would report the various locations in New England and beyond they would travel together to gather sports memorabilia. Bill was a world class memorabilia dealer and my sister played a big role in assisting Bill with that business when his health started to fail. From the time they met, it was rare to find them apart, be it the travels I mentioned above, walking their dogs around the Framingham reservoirs, or shopping together. I was so happy my sister had fallen in with the love of her life and his family, especially Bill’s mom, who welcomed her with open arms. This was important for her after the rocky experience with our own mom.

Bill and his Mom

Life, has a tendency to be unfair and it certainly is in this case. I am only comforted in knowing that my sister finally had a man worthy of her and they fit a lot of love in the all too short a time they had with each other. They made the most of the 12 years they had together, fitting a lifetime of emotion in these all too short years. Bill left us all too soon, but he left my sister with the memories of being loved that will last her the rest of her life. That capacity for love defined Bill. Here is one of his messages on Facebook:

The look of love. Just when it looked like my life was over, I met Leslie. The love we have is simple, pure and meant to be as it's a romance for the ages. I have one goal every day: Make Leslie Hedin the happiest woman on the planet.

Rest in peace my brother. You left us too soon but your long, gallant fight to stay with my sister will stand as an enduring message of true love.

A True Love Story

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RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                     

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; CRC - Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during him her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; PCR - Pittsburgh College Roommate – high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; PCR+1 - Pittsburgh College Roommate’s wife; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Seis Amigos - two couples from our condo complex and my wife and I; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course