RIP
May 5th, 2009
Our family has had two major blows in the last two months. My sister-in-law died on March 8th and now my father died on May 4th. This has been a terrible year so far and hoping that things start to change in a hurry as we are drowning.
My father has been battling several ailments for the better part of 5 years, but it has been pretty bad for him the last 2 to 3 years. He has been in and out of the ICU and has done stints of 4 and 2 months of medically induced coma. He has been on a respirator once and had a trake twice. So for him to have passed was a mericiful thing. Though we expected this, and often even hoped for it to end his pain, I must admit that it is still extemely hard to handle.
My father is sorely missed as our relationship has stregthened throughout the years and he was probably my best friend. We saw each other at least once a week and often frequented a baseball game, the movies, and always got together to watch the NY Giants on Sundays. I can’t even drink a beer with out thinking of him and remebering the countless ones we shared over the years.
We had to explain to the Tornado, whom my father had dubbed the Tornado, that Poppy is dead and though at 3 years old she can say the words, she hasn’t grasped the concept. We are taking her to the wake, though for only a short time, so she can start to understand the finality of all of this. Poppy and the Tornado were extremely close and Poppy was a wonderful grandfather to her, and his 5 other grand kids, all of whom were able to say good bye hours before he finally succumbed. Actually, he was surrounded by much of his family in the closing moments. His four children, wife, two sisters, 6 grandchildren, son-in-law, and my wife, whom he became more like a father than merely a father-in-law too, were there in the last hours. In the final moments his wife of what would would have been 47 years on May 6th and two daughters were there to hold his hand and I arrived about five minutes after the fact followed by my brother shortly after. The man loved his family more than anything else in the world and was surrounded by them until the end.
My father was a hero in life and will be a legend in death, at least to me and the countless family and friends he has touched in his rich and full life. Furthermore, to me, he will always be simply “pal.”
I love you, Dad.
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