On a sad note, another member of my family on my mother's side passed away Sunday afternoon. The sad part of the whole situation is that he was in very poor health due to all of the diseases he developed from being exposed to Agent Orange in Viet Nam. What is even more sad is that he had to fight the government for years to pay for all of his medical expenses because they tried to say that he had never served in Viet Nam. I believe that eventually, after years of legal battle, they did reconcile all of that and take care of things the way they should have, but it was awful that he had to go through all of that only to end up dying from the effects of it anyway.

He was a very nice man. Although he teased me horribly at times I eventually realized he meant no harm by it. He was naturally a teasing person. He used to call Logan "Buzzard Bait" when he was little. I guess that sounds odd, but it was a term of endearment. He took him on his very first horseback ride at about eighteen months old. I am glad that I have the pictures of that.

Maybe the thing I remember most about him though, was that he couldn't be in the same room with a baby crying. He didn't tell me much about why that was except that it had to do with being "over there" and hearing babies constantly screaming at night. I have thought about that a lot over the years as it was probably the most horribly profound thing I have ever heard anyone say.

All I can say is that I am glad to have known him, I wish my children could have known him better, and that I hope that he is at peace now.

Good bye Richard.

Posted by gwendolyn on July 18, 2001 at 10:39 AM