{"id":3643,"date":"2014-08-23T13:48:21","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T19:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.keloland.com\/lund\/?p=3643"},"modified":"2023-07-20T21:00:03","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T21:00:03","slug":"bird-of-paradise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/bird-of-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird Of Paradise?"},"content":{"rendered":"

People die.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the law.<\/p>\n

I just wasn\u2019t ready for my brother to die and that\u2019s the truth.<\/p>\n

I suppose it\u2019s because he\u2019s bounced back from adversity so many times during his 72 years, we..his family and friends..just figured he wouldn\u2019t let Parkinson\u2019s, COPD, a heart that wouldn\u2019t stay in rhythm, CREST Syndrome and a few other physical ailments stand in his way of recovery this time.<\/p>\n

It was too much, of course, and it turned out that Saturday August 16th<\/sup> would be Dennis Lund\u2019s last day on earth. He tried to hang on so everyone could be there but he was hurting and breathing was such a chore. Totally aware of everything going on, Denny accepted our expressions of love and offered his to all of us in the room, then gave the green light for nurse Charlie to administer the morphine and \u00a0end his agony.<\/p>\n

As requested, Denny\u2019s memorial service at Boom\u2019s wasn\u2019t real traditional. Pastor, Dennis Ellingson..a family friend..agreed to come out of retirement to lead the proceedings that included a memorable eulogy from Denny\u2019s wife, Judy who recounted that final day in the hospital and some of the wonderful and witty things my brother said before dying. Judy was well aware that her husband loved the game of golf almost as much as he loved her yet she made sure there was a definite golf theme to his service; the most obvious being my brother\u2019s ashes contained in a golf-ball shaped urn. \u00a0
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\"denny<\/a><\/p>\n

I got up next trying to keep the mood light telling tales of growing up together..sharing a bed..me wetting that bed and he accidentally rolling into the puddle. That haunted me through the years when Denny would bring it up in front of people who\u2019d recognize me from TV. I also got some chuckles talking about my brother\u2019s various business adventures..especially raising Llamas and how I\u2019d cringe when people would ask me to explain what in the world he was doing that for.\u00a0 My younger brother, Tom was next and, again, with humor through the pauses for swallowing, talked of Denny\u2019s influence on our lives; his bravado, his lightening-fast wit and his surprising tender side. Then Denny and Judy\u2019s son, Jay summoned up the emotional stamina to tell one of the funniest stories I\u2019ve ever heard about he and his dad digging fence posts at the Llama farm on a cold autumn day.<\/p>\n

There was actually applause after it was over and, as the overflow crowd slowly exited from the room to the music of Blood, Sweat and Tears \u201cWhen I Die,\u201d\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t help overhear many people saying it was one of the best funerals they\u2019d ever attended. Others said the weirdest. Still others mentioned an hour long roller coaster ride of emotions.<\/p>\n

In keeping with the theme of celebration over melancholy, everyone gathered at the VFW where a special room was set aside for us to meet and enjoy pizza from Denny and Judy\u2019s favorite place, Tomacelli\u2019s, along with beverages and an open mic for sharing Denny stories.<\/p>\n

Denny and Judy’s first born son, Mitchell, along with his wife, Jodi, hardly left his dad’s side throughout the entire stay in the hospital and Good Sam. \u00a0But, being even more emotional than the rest of us, Mitch chose not to speak at the service. But later at the VFW gathering, he absolutely brought hysterical laughter telling the story of once running into his dad at one of Mitchell, South Dakota’s more notorious night spots. \u00a0Father and son used to joke about the incident with Mitch suggesting he was named after the city to our west. But there was no kidding around on the Saturday of Denny’s passing, though, when..for the first time ever, \u00a0he called his eldest boy..”sweetheart.”<\/p>\n

The next day was going through sympathy cards and sending \u201cThank-you\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last two days I haven\u2019t left the house except to pick up a few essentials. It\u2019s been mostly sleeping and feeling sorry for myself.<\/p>\n

My brother\u2019s passing isn\u2019t about me and yet he was such a part of who I am, the reality of what\u2019s transpired seems unacceptable. We didn\u2019t see each other every \u201cmonth\u201d much less every day yet I always knew he was there to answer a question or offer advice; my one true blood source that I trusted.<\/p>\n

As I stood over him last Saturday, I told him again how much I\u2019ve loved and \u00a0idolized him all my life and what an influence he\u2019s been on nearly everything I\u2019ve done. What I didn\u2019t ask, though, is about dying itself. I selfishly wanted to know what he\u2019s experiencing\u2026if he could lead the way again and let me know that he sees the light and everything would be okay on the other side.<\/p>\n

But it wouldn\u2019t have made a difference anyway; morphine, by that time, had \u00a0numbed his reality and within a short time a single tear slid down his cheek and, with a room full of sobbing loved ones looking on, Denny drew his last breath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Okay, this next part might be what journalists call \u201cburying the lead\u201d but then most journalists probably wouldn\u2019t accept what I\u2019m about to relate as anything but pure fiction anyway but here goes.<\/p>\n

Facebook is not everybody\u2019s cup of tea but I like it. Of course you have to overlook the \u00a0political rambling, silly game requests and other hooey, but it has allowed me to hook up with old friends and new who have been fun to play and celebrate with as well as offer council and sympathy to. Lord knows I\u2019ve been on the receiving end of that a lot lately for which I\u2019m profoundly grateful.<\/p>\n

One of those friends is a woman I\u2019ve never met; Greg Latza\u2019s mom, Carol. She posted this on her timeline just as I sat down to my computer feeling very depressed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A cardinal is a representative of a loved one who has passed. When you see one, it means they are visiting you. They usually show up when you most need them or miss them. They also make an appearance during times of celebration as well as despair to let you know they will always be with you. Look for them, they’ll appear.<\/p><\/div>\n

My first thought was chain letter or one of those religious ultimatum sayings that pop up now and again on social media but, there were no demands here. Just a declarative statement that says look for them..they\u2019ll appear. So I said, \u201cOh yeah?\u201d \u201cAppear then!\u201d and looked out my window at the tree.<\/p>\n

Within 5 seconds a beautiful red cardinal landed and paraded around on the branch not 15 feet from the window! I\u2019ve seen them in my tree before..maybe a couple times a year..usually hidden in the leaves. This beautiful representative hopped proudly in full view. When my heart finally left my throat, I hollered for Linda to come quick. But by the time she got here, the scarlet messenger had taken flight.<\/p>\n

I only hope that the passage of time and the inevitable skepticism that haunts my being will not dilute this experience..this reassurance I’ve been given..expressed best in words from a favorite hymn: \u00a0\u201cIt is well\u2026it is well..with my soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People die. That\u2019s the law. I just wasn\u2019t ready for my brother to die and that\u2019s the truth. I suppose it\u2019s because he\u2019s bounced back from adversity so many times during his 72 years, we..his family and friends..just figured he wouldn\u2019t let Parkinson\u2019s, COPD, a heart that wouldn\u2019t stay in rhythm, CREST Syndrome and a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lund-at-large","category-60","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11596,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3643\/revisions\/11596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}