Be thankful, grateful, patient, charitable, kind, and don’t forget to smile, as it is infectious. God Bless America and Protect Our President and Military
Our wedding day on that fairly warm January 24, 1976. It was a simpler time in life and the world. Looking back, many of our loved ones were there, laughing, sharing our moment, and in good health. My father would die before that year’s end, devastating our family a month before their anniversary, his 61st birthday, and our first child, our daughter Marie, was born.
Now at 70, it would’ve been nice to freeze that moment in memory, taking in the significance of that day just a little more slowly, taking each frame one at a time. It just goes so fast from one moment to the next, and maybe it’s a good thing our memory only lets us glimpse back with a certain sound, smell, laugh, or story that sparks the memory of it to be viewed in bits and pieces, like looking at it through a kaleidoscope that changes with the slightest movement.
I am reminded, as I type this prompt, that my late brother and life’s best friend, other than my wife, Larry’s daughter, is getting married on September 19. Their wedding day just happens to be what would’ve been my parents’ 84th Anniversary. I was humbly brought to tears and, quite frankly, at a loss for words when she unexpectedly asked me to walk her down the aisle. No greater honor could have been asked than walking one of my own daughters down the aisle.
My brother Larry’s shoes are hard to fill, as he was so talented and articulate, writing, poetry, performing music, and painting. He was my Best Man and I his. He had an amazing sense of humor and quick wit. He was the mad hatter in the picture below, wrote, copyrighted, and has about 40 songs out on SoundCloud. So, this task seems almost overwhelming to me. We were 15 months apart and did everything together, had the same friends, started playing guitar around the same time, and started a band together.
I can hear him whisper words of encouragement now, saying, “Dan-il, if not you, who? You’ve got to do this for me, no excuses. You know, our promise was that we would always have each other’s backs! You got this, and besides, you’ll do great!!” My response is, “Yeah, I got this, just wish you were here.”
Feel free to share a moment of yours!
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