My mother told me there would be days like this. Yesterday morning the phone woke me before 6:00 am. My daughter was screaming on the phone, "John is dead. Mama, John is dead."
I yanked on some clothes and went to her house. The yard and driveway were full of vehicles so I parked across the street. The Sheriff's deputy and several firemen and the ambulance drivers were standing around the front porch and the living room. John was still sitting in his chair. She was right--he was dead.
The Justice of the Peace didn't come until after 8:00 am. She was very kind as were the other guys. Carol was calm and controlled and Sarah was almost inconspicuous. The dog was very vocal--he barked at every new person and car. John would have to have an autopsy.
By 9:00a.m. the funeral home people came and took John away. I was glad when they got there and so was Carol. I could not keep from looking at him expecting him to say something.
Carol was glad when they came. She had noticed that he was not moving. He had been sick with a cold and a bad cough, and she was glad he was sleeping. Then she realized that he was too still and she couldn't hear him breathe. Sarah got up about 5:00 a.m. to get ready for school.
Carol said "Feel of him. Is he cold?"
"He's not breathing, Mama," she said.
That was when Carol called me and Sarah went across the street and got Stan. He called the fire department and the emergency guys.
John's sisters came to see Carol after I left. The weather was very bad and the roads were beginning to ice over. It was the beginning of a very bad day.
The memorial service for John will be Saturday morning, but the bad day won't be over then. My mother never said how long a bad day could last.
I yanked on some clothes and went to her house. The yard and driveway were full of vehicles so I parked across the street. The Sheriff's deputy and several firemen and the ambulance drivers were standing around the front porch and the living room. John was still sitting in his chair. She was right--he was dead.
The Justice of the Peace didn't come until after 8:00 am. She was very kind as were the other guys. Carol was calm and controlled and Sarah was almost inconspicuous. The dog was very vocal--he barked at every new person and car. John would have to have an autopsy.
By 9:00a.m. the funeral home people came and took John away. I was glad when they got there and so was Carol. I could not keep from looking at him expecting him to say something.
Carol was glad when they came. She had noticed that he was not moving. He had been sick with a cold and a bad cough, and she was glad he was sleeping. Then she realized that he was too still and she couldn't hear him breathe. Sarah got up about 5:00 a.m. to get ready for school.
Carol said "Feel of him. Is he cold?"
"He's not breathing, Mama," she said.
That was when Carol called me and Sarah went across the street and got Stan. He called the fire department and the emergency guys.
John's sisters came to see Carol after I left. The weather was very bad and the roads were beginning to ice over. It was the beginning of a very bad day.
The memorial service for John will be Saturday morning, but the bad day won't be over then. My mother never said how long a bad day could last.
2 comments:
I'm not sure how to respond to this - no words are realy enough. Just want to say I am thinking of you and your family at this terrible time.
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