A friend has passed
Jun. 7th, 2009 07:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kumir_k9Twenty-six years ago, one of my dearest friends in the world, Linda, went with me to Hell and back in getting the Nashua Flute Choir running properly. I won't go into the details here. Just say it was a labor of love that formed a bond unlike any other I have. Over the 19 years that followed that year from Hell, she and I pretty much ran that group and brought it to be one of the finest flute choirs in the country. If you don't believe me, check out the videos on their home page.
But I digress. There were two other people that made it happen, my wife and her husband Donald. They were both there for every single concert, taking tickets, passing out programs, putting out the food at intermission, serving guests, chatting it up with people and most importantly, being there to support us.
Donald was one of those guys who always had a smile on his face and was always in a good mood. He always had a good (if not always appropriate) joke handy to make others laugh. He was a lot like me. If he answered the phone when I'd call for Linda, he and I would talk for a bit before he'd hand the phone over, because we just got along so well. When Monique and I would visit or go out to a meal with Liinda, Donald would come with us. I even did some computer work for Donald for his business. This friendship with Linda and Donald didn't diminish when I moved away to CT 10 years ago.
A few months ago, Donald was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Despite all best efforts, Donald went downhill pretty quickly and yesterday morning he passed away in a hospice center. I was one of the people Linda called to talk about it. We chatted for about half an hour. Fortunately, she's been preparing emotionally for a while now, so she was in relatively good shape. Even though Linda and I have talked about it, I have not been so lucky and this has been really hitting me hard.
Linda will be having a small, family burial for Donald on Friday. She'll be doing a larger memorial service for family and freinds mid-day Saturday next weekend. She'd discussed this with him in the past few weeks. One of the things she wants is to have a flute ensemble of his closest friends play for it, four people. I'm one of the four he wanted. I've played many happy occasions for people I know. I've never played for a sad occasion with personal ties before. I'm crying my eyes out last night and now in the hopes of getting it out of my system.
Linda asked me if I had plans. I did. I dropped them without a moments hesitation. How could I do anything less for two of best friends I've ever had? I will still be NPCing the NERO event Friday night and Saturday night as I promised. I take commitments pretty seriously. I will not be PCing Saturday as I planned because I'll be heading off to Nashua for a practice and the service. I expect to get back in time for my Saturday night shift.
Anyway, rest in peace Donald. You've been a good friend and you will be missed. I've got to get the maudlin out of my system now because Linda said that she'll kill anyone who tries to make your memorial service sad. It will be a celebration of your life and not a mourning. I guess I need to remember some of your bad jokes before next weekend.
But I digress. There were two other people that made it happen, my wife and her husband Donald. They were both there for every single concert, taking tickets, passing out programs, putting out the food at intermission, serving guests, chatting it up with people and most importantly, being there to support us.
Donald was one of those guys who always had a smile on his face and was always in a good mood. He always had a good (if not always appropriate) joke handy to make others laugh. He was a lot like me. If he answered the phone when I'd call for Linda, he and I would talk for a bit before he'd hand the phone over, because we just got along so well. When Monique and I would visit or go out to a meal with Liinda, Donald would come with us. I even did some computer work for Donald for his business. This friendship with Linda and Donald didn't diminish when I moved away to CT 10 years ago.
A few months ago, Donald was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Despite all best efforts, Donald went downhill pretty quickly and yesterday morning he passed away in a hospice center. I was one of the people Linda called to talk about it. We chatted for about half an hour. Fortunately, she's been preparing emotionally for a while now, so she was in relatively good shape. Even though Linda and I have talked about it, I have not been so lucky and this has been really hitting me hard.
Linda will be having a small, family burial for Donald on Friday. She'll be doing a larger memorial service for family and freinds mid-day Saturday next weekend. She'd discussed this with him in the past few weeks. One of the things she wants is to have a flute ensemble of his closest friends play for it, four people. I'm one of the four he wanted. I've played many happy occasions for people I know. I've never played for a sad occasion with personal ties before. I'm crying my eyes out last night and now in the hopes of getting it out of my system.
Linda asked me if I had plans. I did. I dropped them without a moments hesitation. How could I do anything less for two of best friends I've ever had? I will still be NPCing the NERO event Friday night and Saturday night as I promised. I take commitments pretty seriously. I will not be PCing Saturday as I planned because I'll be heading off to Nashua for a practice and the service. I expect to get back in time for my Saturday night shift.
Anyway, rest in peace Donald. You've been a good friend and you will be missed. I've got to get the maudlin out of my system now because Linda said that she'll kill anyone who tries to make your memorial service sad. It will be a celebration of your life and not a mourning. I guess I need to remember some of your bad jokes before next weekend.
