This is a true story about courage, not mine but someone else's. I won't mention his name because I haven't cleared this with him.
The story starts way back when we were just kids. We had fun as kids, we played together whenever we were together. As we got older we kind of drifted apart. Our lives took different paths. He went to college and I chose the military. Keep in mind that this was the late 60s and early 70s, that's right, the Vietnam War. His philosophy was much more liberal than mine. I was somewhat scary conservative even back then. We didn't see each other for years at a time.
When I got out of the military, I moved to the Atlanta area and he was living in New York. He was married with two kids and I was divorced with custody of my daughter. I immediately found a job and went to work. I wasn't aware what he was up to until one day he and his family showed up on their way to finding a new place to live. They spent a couple of days and I showed them around the area. Then they left to continue their quest to find a new home.
Something happened to them as they were driving but I didn't hear about it for a few days when he called to say they turned around and decided to move here. I was thrilled to have them nearby. As time went by, they had a third child and things seemed good. But maybe not so. There were marriage issues that I will not go into that resulted in a divorce. He got married again to a woman who would be the love of his life who had to little girls of her own so now their blended family formed bonds and friendships that would endure anything.
Two things played big roles in his life. They were music and religion. Let's look at the music for a minute. He played the guitar and banjo. His kids played guitar, banjo, violin, harmonica and God knows what else. Between all of them, they can play anything. They are a talented bunch I got to tell you.
Now let's talk about religion. I don't know when religion came into his life but I'm glad it did because it gave him a sense of purpose and being. He and his family gave so much of themselves and touched so many lives.
I can tell you who I am writing about now because my cousin Scott died of cancer last Saturday with his wife and children by his side. He had a rare courage because even though he was in awful pain, every time we saw him, he would ask how we were doing. He was my lifelong friend, wonderful father, remarkable human being, and I will miss him until I see him again.
