RIP Doc
So sad to hear that you are no more, Dr. W!
Ten years ago when we were hunting for a new home, we found the one that you had put your heart and soul into, building it for your young family, way back when. Despite having to renovate and update the house, the one thing that stood out was that the home had character and that’s what we loved and bought. This was not one of those cold real estate transactions.
We moved into your old house while you were “downsizing” because you had just retired. But then you had gone and built a house just as large as the one you vacated right next door! When I kidded you about it, you said you only downsized the land, not the house. I guess that kind of makes sense….less lawn to mow.
We are so glad that we found our new home in your old one, and it has been wonderful to have you and Mrs.W as neighbors all this while.
Just a few days ago, you were fine, chatting about all kinds of topics, so it is doubly sad for us that you have left us so suddenly
Thank you for everything you did, from watching our house when we were away (a lot!) to making sure our garbage can was back in its place by the garage after it had been emptied. Every Monday, for the last couple of years!
And for being so kind always.
Thank you for your visits and for coming by to share a glass of wine or whiskey (or two or three, even if Mrs. W had said you could only have one).
Thank you for all those discussions on life, family, economics, politics (with you being as red as red could be and I as blue as blue can be) and more…they were ever so cordial, funny and kind – there, that word just keeps coming back to me!
Funny, I remember this like yesterday when you were telling hubby that all he had to do was wear some scrubs and go to the hospital and (given that he is Indian American) everyone there would just assume he must be a physician. You kept asking him to try that out. Just fake it, you said, you’ll be fine. 🙂
And I also remember when you came by as soon as I called you that day that I had had a break-in at the house…so worried and kind. I can’t seem to get that word out of my mind!
Thank you for being so appreciative always – how come you found something nice to compliment us every time we met?
We are so very sad to hear of your passing.. What with all of our commuting back and forth these past couple of years, we never even had the chance to say good bye properly! We always knew you were there, looking out for us. Right now, we are mourning the loss of a wonderful neighbor and friend.
RIP, kind Dr. W – we count ourselves lucky to have known you for the past ten years. We will miss you.
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“If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in.”
— Frederick Buechner (Whistling in the Dark: A Doubter’s Dictionary)
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That’s Unfair. That’s Life.
Have you ever been unfairly judged or unjustly accused? About something that you had nothing to do with?
I’m sure you have. Or else you are not human. Or you have relationships that are not with humans. 🙂 It happens some time or the other to every one of us. And at times, you are likely doing the judging.
We’ve all seen some extreme cases of this occurence. Someone is sent to prison and years later is found to be innocent. Tragic really because that person’s precious years and life have vanished. And then you see someone like Mandela (no, not Morgan Freeman!) and what he accomplished while in prison and it’s like, wow!
But most people don’t deal with such extremes or excesses.
Frequently these “unfair things” are insignificant and don’t occupy a lot of space in your brain. But then something might have happened to you ages ago. It’s not even that consequential. But you still remember it clear as day today. Why?
Picture this.
There’s a young child in kindergarten. Each evening when this 5 year old goes home, she and her other 5 year old friends meet with a tutor, someone who ensures that their homework is getting done.
Something strange is afoot though. Every once in a while, very mysteriously, this girl’s school books disappear right on time…that is, when it’s time to do her homework. The kid claims that she doesn’t have a clue where her books are. But the tutor is convinced that she is hiding them herself because she doesn’t want to have anything to do with homework that day. So she berates, reprimands, shouts at the kid. To no avail. The child cries but the teacher is convinced that it’s all an act and those are simply crocodile tears. The child says she has no idea where her books are. But the teacher doesn’t believe her. Especially when the books appear just as mysteriously when it’s time for school the next day.
Then one day.
Lo and behold, the child “finds” one of her hidden books. She is thrilled. She comes running to the teacher, smiling and can’t wait to let her know about this wonderful find! She shows the book to her and tells her where she found it.
What does the teacher say?
Of course, you found it. You are the one who hid it there!
And it gets worse. Just for finding the book and bringing it to her, she is sent off to stand in the corner facing the wall as punishment. With her friends as witnesses. The ultimate humiliation.
Fast forward to many years later, the kids in question are all in their late teens, they’ve reunited with the tutor and are sitting around chatting about the good old days. Somehow, the topic of the hidden books in kindergarten comes up – remember when…? One of the friends pipes up and says, you know, I’m the one who hid your books. Everyone is having a good laugh. Meanwhile, I’m thinking –
WHAT?
To this day, that hurts. Not so much that a friend hid my books – she probably had a good reason to do so. Maybe I did something to anger or annoy her, and she wanted to retaliate. Or she was having a string of bad days. It could have been anything. Kids will be kids.
What hurts is that the tutor did not believe me. She had made up her mind and nothing I said or did convinced her.
It’s funny what you remember when you grow up, isn’t it?
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The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 