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#101
12/03/2007, 06:54 PM
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Quote:
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-- Carrie -- Oh shut up, and kiss my fairy wrasse. ~Gawain1974~ silly girls make stuff hard ~drauka99~ |
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#102
12/03/2007, 07:55 PM
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i have some downtime so here goes...
several years ago, i decided to start the lollipop kids on a BARF diet. i called the local poultry supplier and asked if i could get chicken necks, raw, in bulk. he said yes, they sell them, frozen, in 40# boxes. great, i'll be there right away. gary says are you sure you wanna do this? don't you have enough to do? yeah, i'm sure sweetie. i bring home a 40# box of chicken necks and figure it'll last a good long time. i put the box in the deep freeze and decide i'll start the next day. yum! raw beef, raw chicken necks, some good healthy veggies and my dogs are on their way to shiny coats and perfect teeth... the next day, i drag the box out of the deep freeze, i open it up to get out 2 chicken necks and i find only one. one! well, ok, there were probably 200 but it LOOKED like one. it was a solid brick. the chicken necks weren't frozen individually. they were thrown together and frozen as one... gary looked at me and started laughing hysterically. he says whatchya gonna do, babe?? i said i'm gonna just cut chunks off and thaw them and that'll work. it doesn't have to LOOK like a chicken neck. he shook his head and walked away... gary being gary and knowing i would struggle decided he would help me. out came his hammer and chisel. he hammered and chiseled for an hour without making much headway. mind you, this was in the heat of summer. he asked me for a sweat band. poor guy was working much too hard... so, he hammers and he chisels for another 30 minutes and he's not making any more progress than *I* was with a butcher knife. he says screw this and gets out his chainsaw... i said whoa! isn't that gonna be kinda hard on your blade? he says nah, he can do this but i shouldn't tell anybody because his brothers, especially, would laugh at him. he fired up that chainsaw, started into that frozen-like-concrete block of raw chicken necks and FLESH FLEW EVERYWHERE... i could not for the life of me stifle a laugh. here is this 6'4", 205# macho man with his treasured chainsaw and he's trying to saw through a 40# block of frozen chicken necks and there i was trying so hard to cheer him on... then there was silence. no buzzing. no laughing. he turned to look at me. he was covered in chicken flesh. the dogs were all over him like stink on poop. that made it even funnier. he turned to me, smiled and said he just had an idea and it would solve this problem once and for all. i asked what he thought would work. he never said another word. he just picked up that 40# block of frozen chicken necks and walked away. i watched him go across the yard, lower the strand of electric fence that kept the cows in, step over it, walk to the levee and disappear... when he reappeared, his hands were empty. he was grinning. i said what happened to the necks?? he said two words..."turtle bait". he made me promise i wouldn't tell his brothers about his chainsaw and how he ruined the blades. so i never did. well, not until last night.  that's my story and i'm stickin' to it!
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of all the things i've lost, i miss my gary the most. |
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#106
12/03/2007, 10:54 PM
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ok...chickens and chainsaws are never a good combination!
since i've been away---if you need anything from me, you know where to find me.
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tony __________________________________ "Some people are like a slinky, they serve no apparent purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs." |
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#107
12/03/2007, 10:58 PM
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Quote:
 and I agree, chickens & chainsaws don't mix well
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as scary as it may be, bart and i are very similar in our opinions of this topic ~jpfelix HEY! I lost it first ~CRP There is no "Brain" in "Brian." ~Beerguy |
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#108
12/03/2007, 10:59 PM
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Quote:
i know where to find you if you haven't moved. i have played over and over and over again in my mind, friday evening and how gary chose to leave this world. i told his s-i-l today that never one time in 11 years did i ever doubt his love for me. the way gary left this world for the next only renewed my conviction that he loved me every bit as much as i love him. i will treasure that memory and all of the memories from the past 11 years until i meet up with him in heaven. i wonder if gary has found my dad yet. 
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of all the things i've lost, i miss my gary the most. |
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#109
12/03/2007, 11:07 PM
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Nina,
I'm so sorry for your loss, I can't string together any words to express how I feel. on the other hand, I'm so glad that you have such colorful, laughable, vivid memories of you & Gary together for yourself & those stories that you've shared with us. I think being able to laugh along with you at the stories after crying with you is quite a gift you've given us
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as scary as it may be, bart and i are very similar in our opinions of this topic ~jpfelix HEY! I lost it first ~CRP There is no "Brain" in "Brian." ~Beerguy |
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#110
12/03/2007, 11:09 PM
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I'm sure your dad was waiting for him Nina
and thanking him for loving you the way that you so deserved and for loving your son John as well...Christy
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i look damn good in it too, i'll have you know- Nina... Look at all those forced smiles. They probably all hate each other!- Debi... She can kick all their butts and can write her name in the snow in cursive!- CRP... so...what are you wearing...? panties...? lace panties...? that's what I'm wearing - ScubaDave and the telemarketer... Life can be short, just like me... Live it to the fullest!!! Family is always there for you NO matter what, just like a "true friend" would be... A cheat is a cheat, and are always busted... |
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#111
12/03/2007, 11:15 PM
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Gary didn't have to find any of his loved ones Nina, they were all waiting for him with open arms. Nina, Gary loved you with his whole heart, that's why he struggled to leave you. P.S. whether Gary would approve or not I think the lollipop kids should get to sleep in your bed with you now
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#112
12/03/2007, 11:31 PM
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I too am quite sure that Gary has had no troubles finding anyone. I bet they all were waiting patiently, ready to welcome him. I also believe you are correct in your thoughts of how Gary chose to leave this world. It was a perfect way to do it and I bet anything that he felt safe because you were there.
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"I wanna know what I've been hiding, in my shadow"-m.j.k. "well here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why." |
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#113
12/04/2007, 12:26 AM
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I haven't replied until now just because, well, I've been waiting for the "right" words to come to mind. They're still not coming...
Do know that the 4 of us have you and your family in our thoughts and prayers. Derek
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"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." --John Muir |
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#114
12/04/2007, 01:30 AM
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God bless you both. I can't add much to what other Loungers have already said... I'll just say it again, what a wonderful man Gary is.
Nina, thank you for giving us a little bit of Gary for all of us to honor and remember... We have you and your family in our prayers... Gary is in a better place now... watching over the horses, the corgies, Nana, his farm and his true love... Amber and Adrian |
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#115
12/04/2007, 06:14 AM
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i have laid awake for the past hour trying to prepare myself for today. i finally decided i can't. i will, as gary always used to say, "take it as it comes". i'm looking forward to meeting uh_oh but he's not gonna see the best side of me!
i drove up to the cemetery late last night and shined my headlights at gary's final resting spot. his brothers chose a place on the hillside and he will be nestled among the pine trees and not far from the pasture where cows peacefully graze. there are a couple of bluebird nest boxes not far from gary's spot. they need some work and i will busy myself next spring getting them ready for nesting season. gary will love having some of his beloved bluebirds near. i have been doing pretty well the past couple of days but this morning i feel like i am on the verge of a major meltdown. i sat with nana and george last evening for a while and we told "gary stories" while we looked at pictures. one of gary's cousins i had never met stopped by yesterday and dropped off a whole shoebox full of pictures of gary when he was a little boy. he was such a cutie! we'll be leaving in 3 hours. george's wife, cheri, and i along with john will see gary before the casket is closed and people begin arriving. his brothers and his sister and nana have all chosen not to view him. i have to have one more chance to kiss his cheek and tell him how much i love him. i also have his swiss army knife and his hershey bar and a couple of pictures i want to send along with him. God, can anything be any harder than this? 
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of all the things i've lost, i miss my gary the most. |
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#116
12/04/2007, 07:00 AM
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i don't think there is any way to really prepare for a day like today. all you can do is make it through. you have an amazing support system in your family Nina, take advantage of that today. lean on them, as they will lean on you and each other. "Take it as it comes" is good advice. I think your best side actually will show through today. the side that loves completely, that is human, compassionate, and vulnerable.
Gary's spot sounds lovely. I'm sure he will be happy having bluebirds so near. Your plan to fix up the nest boxes is a great one. If I may say so, don't be afraid of the meltdowns. They are cathartic. Don't hold in your pain, it will only hurt you more. All of your lounge family will be thinking of you and your family today and we will all be there in spirit.
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"I wanna know what I've been hiding, in my shadow"-m.j.k. "well here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why." |
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#117
12/04/2007, 07:07 AM
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Nina, just wanted to check in quickly to say that you will all be in my thoughts and prayers today. It's never easy to say goodbye no matter who in the family it is. But that's ok...it's not supposed to be. But we will see them all again.
As a side note...I hope that piper has some thermals to wear! I don't know about there, but it's cold AND windy here!
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"I'm not closed minded. You're just wrong!" - Bucky Katt "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." - Red Green |
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#119
12/04/2007, 07:18 AM
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Sending good thoughts your way today.
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Les The real voyage of discovery consists not of seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ~Marcel Proust |
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#120
12/04/2007, 08:01 AM
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i know you will all be there in spirit with me and gary today.
vr, it's chilly here...every time i said that to gary, he'd say "it must be below zero then!"...chilly, to me, was downright bitter to him. no wind today, there is the most beautiful sunrise right now, lots of pink, orange and even some blue mixed in. gary didn't see too many sunrises, he liked to sleep in, but i bet he's seeing this one! i thought i had saved the verses i selected for gary's funeral program but i can't find them. maybe i can have them scanned and put them here for you to see. along with 2 verses, on his program will appear the phrase "if wishes were horses, beggars would fly on clouds of white stallions with bright firey eyes". i would always say that to him when he said how much he wished he was well enough to help me around the farm. i would tell him that he could help when he got well. *sigh*
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of all the things i've lost, i miss my gary the most. |
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#121
12/04/2007, 08:38 AM
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Nina,
It is amazing to me that two people whom I have never met or really know can touch my heart so deeply. I cannot bear to read your words as they fill me with sadness for a man and women I will never meet. I hope you can keep in sight the fact taht you are so very fortunate to have found true and everlasting love; it can never fade or dim throughout eternity. Good Luck today
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Mirror shatters, in formless reflections of matter . . . |
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#122
12/04/2007, 08:45 AM
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i'm shutting my computer down. i will check in later this evening. many thanks to my lounge family for everything! xoxoxo nina
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of all the things i've lost, i miss my gary the most. |
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#123
12/04/2007, 08:47 AM
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God bless, Nina ... this will be a hard day for you.
There is a tradition in some churches where they don't call it a "funeral", they call it a "going home celebration" I hope that today will be a wonderful celebration of Gary's wonderful life. |
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#125
12/04/2007, 09:26 AM
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While Gary may be gone, like some many before him he will not be forgotten.
I, like many others, have been reading along but have said very little. The words of others rang so true to the thoughts in my head. I do need to tell you Thank You for sharing this part of your life with us. Many of the posts have brought tears to my eyes. Most importantly, your posts have reminded me how important it is to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. I think I have told my wife how much I love her more in the past month than in the previous year. Thank you Nina for sharing your stength, sadness, love, and joy with all of us here. You have touched my heart, and I know many others as well. God bless you and your family today and always. -Scott. |
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