Joe was my neighbor and a good neighbor at that. However, I lost a lifelong pal (from 2nd grade to age 39) to the evil “C” 10 years ago. He also happened to be my neighbor. I was with him 4 hours before he passed away along with some family and friends who’d come to say goodbye. I had called over there and his wife said that I’d better get over there quick. Unfortunately, I knew that this was the harbinger. When I walked into the room, his sister told him that I was there to see him. It was then that he raised his one free arm from the side of the bed with his hand open. I grabbed onto his hand and said to him, “Hi, Scott. I’m drunk but I’m here. I’ve been thinking about you all day long...”. I held on to him for just a half-minute and then abruptly let go of his hand but not without saying on my way out that I would see him when I got ‘there’. I walked home and proceeded to get even more drunk. When I woke up, there was a message on my answering machine. It was his wife, Sherry, to say that he was gone. It had been a long two years since they had both come to see me the day they first got the bad news but at that time they assumed that it would only take some routine surgery and treaments and he’d be back to work in a few short months. Six months later, it happened again- They just out-of-the-blue knocked on my door and like a mule-kick to the gut, they told me that what they’d never expected was in fact, going to happen. Sherry said to us both, “Well, I’m going home to do some laundry and vacuuming. Why don’t you guys go on up to the store and pick up some beer and hang out here for awhile.”. She gave him $10 and off we went to the store where we walked around aimlessly as if lost in the same supermaket that we both knew like the backs of our hands. At one point, we were actually laughing together at how confused we were about everything. Finally, we got out of there and had the chance to gather our wits and talk about the weather, the Tigers, Lions and Pistons and I can’t remember what else. I miss him like a brother. So that’s the difference between a neighbor and a brother who also happened to be my neighbor.
Okay, I’m done. I’d never written it all down until now...
(((((equaviator)))))
The pain never fully goes away, does it? Memories are precious.
Incredibly, he is as far left politically as I am to the right, but it has never affected our friendship. We talk on the phone almost daily or weekly at least. Just like you and Joe, we have been buds since the 2nd grade, and it has lasted all the way until we are both now 55. He is registered to vote in another state or we would cancel out each other's vote in every race in every election.
Anyway, thanks again for sharing that with us and writing it down for the first time. You might want to copy what you wrote and save it.