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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
 
During Old Settlers weekend on the summer that Grandad turned 102, I went to a used book sale. I found a book by Art Linkletter called "Old age is Not for Sissies". It was the perfect gag gift to the man who has everything! The joke, as it happens, was on me. The print was too small for him to read! But it was the thought that counted.




I've been thinking of Grandad a lot lately vis a vis the aging process ever since a friend of mine of Facebook was wondering how to stop it, or at least slow it down. I was reminded of what the great philosopher Red Green said about getting older being better than the alternative.



Then yesterday I realized that we really had no choice in the matter. Grandad's younger brother, Uncle Don has been the oldest living Hinkle ever since God punched Grandad's time card 5 years ago. Last may Uncle Don turned 95, and it hasn't been easy. I suspect it's harder for the rest of the family to watch, just as it was hard for me to see Grandad go into the winter of his life.



I remember the way he'd lament his old age, having to live out his last days in a body that was falling apart and not being able to do things that used to be "duck soup" as he called it. I recall the trips to the bathroom, rejoicing when he got there on time, and cleaning up when he didn't. Mr. Linkletter was right! Old age is NOT for sissies.



Grandad was always my hero! I had others, of course, there was something different about Grandad. He was tough when he had to be, he was kind and gentle when he could be, but he was usually always fair. That is,or rather was, more often than not the case. The only time Grandad ever really disappointed me was when he choked on that "corn starch pudding" that he loved so much! Only 6 days later, he was gone!



Grandad lived through some mighty hard times. The hardest time he had was most must assuredly when his child bride of 63 years parted with him. He used to tell me that he even missed the sound of her snoring. Uncle Don faces that same prospect of losing his child bride of 60+ years as well. That is something so painful that I could not even imagine it! Grandad held onto Grandma's hand until her life was over, he later told me that he couldn't have let go if he hadn't believed that God was holding her hand. That kind of faith is rare, and it carried him through those lonely years as much as possible. That may have been why I was able to keep it together when he left me behind.



As my mind goes back to the day he choked on the pudding, I recall panicking and shouting "Don't do this to me!", which I regret now. At that moment I realized that Grandad was not going to make it to 105, and 104 was going to be long-shot as well. In my Death and Dying class at DWU Dr. Blumer said that when people mourn, it's not really for the departed, they mourn for how the departure impacts themselves. As I see Grandad's history repeating itself in Uncle Don's branch of the family, I find myself feeling helpless as how to help out. All I can do is pray that God will be with them as he was with us. But make no mistake, I will be impacted as well, albeit at a lesser extent.



We all get older, and whether or not that is better than the alternative is not important. The fact is that until we die, we get older. But as long as God is with us, it doesn't matter where we are. Unlike Grandad and Uncle Don, I won't face the loss of a child bride, but when I reach the end of my life, whether it's at age 120, 105, or even if I never see tomorrow, God will be with me. I hope I never lose sight of that!







Monday, October 10, 2011
 
     People seem to find offense at nearly anything these days. People kissing in public, or wearing the wrong message on a t-shirt, and even some things said on TV or the radio have all been in the news recently. So has the negative reactions to those respective actions.
     Is it just me or are people becoming more and more intolerant? Nobody seems to want to live and let live, unless it suits their purpose. There was a certain amount of anger directed toward Hank Williams Jr. for his indirect comparison of President Obama to Hitler, but when similar statements were directed at W during his presidency, nobody even blinked, especially those paragons of truth and justice in the media. The shoes sure switched feet in a hurry. Not that I'm saying Hank was right. Clearly both times this was uncalled for, but only one instance gets the attention.
     I heard "Prairie Home Companion" Yesterday. During the "News" segment host Garrison Keillor mentioned that the minister of the Lutheran church was struggling over whether or not to do a sermon about a passage of scripture in Matthew's gospel about a parable where a man slits the throats of some people. Don't bother looking for this passage, as it doesn't exist. When I heard this part of the monologue I was shocked. Obviously Keillor was playing it for laughs, but it didn't seem funny to me. This is not to equate what he did with Hank Jr. After all, Keillor was on NPR, which won't fire him for distorting gospel. In fact they'll probably give him a raise! Fact is as upset as I got, I realized that his core audience is made up of the same staunch conservative Lutheran folks that he lampoons on the show, and they can take a joke. As soon as the Lutheran half of my upbringing reconciled that with my Methodist half it was OK. THIS TIME!
     Actually this will not stop me from listening to and enjoying PHC. I just hope that nobody who heard that story thinks ill of Matthew's gospel. Perhaps there were some people just curious enough to look up that passage and started reading what was really there. I hope so, as it's a well written book!
     And hopefully I didn't offend you the Reader! If you read up to this point let me remind you that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I got my hair cut for charitable purposes today in honor of 3 of my aunts, who survived breast cancer. I would have had my hair dyed as well, but they never asked, and I never told! I hope and pray for a cure soon, as I'm sure we all do!




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