Memorial – SnickerDude

15 Percent Was Just Enough to Say Farewell

It’s been a week now since “Our Father Who Art in Chino Valley” left behind a legacy of love, humor and integrity. I’m still numb from losing him, but feel my hero’s spirit is smiling down upon this heartbroken soul. My love for him poured out as I wrote his eulogy. It was vital toContinue reading “15 Percent Was Just Enough to Say Farewell”

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The Shocking Stocking Caper

Testing each step, I found the carpet in the living room and made for the fireplace. It was so dark I could barely see the outlines of furniture. “Ouch!” I whispered as a toe found Mom’s steel ashtray. “Oomph!” as my tummy ran into Dad’s music stand. Finally, I made contact with the hearth. One, two, three stockings I felt. Excitedly, I grasped mine. It was full of unseen wonders. Curious to know what all lay inside, I stuck to the mission, feeling around until a likely suspect came to my grasp. It had to be chocolate, I just knew it.

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Dear Ma

Dear Ma, Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the day you left this plane. Just as you preferred, no tears, no debilitating Irish black funk. Whenever you came to mind, many times, I remembered this picture of you and Dad. And that, dear Ma, helped me to smile, instead of pouring out the remaining grief.Continue reading “Dear Ma”

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Success Story

Today, for the first time, I held in my hands, a book with my published story in it. A tribute to my mother, it’s a lasting memorial to the first person to believe in me. It was a tender yet bittersweet moment, since Ma passed almost a decade ago. She constantly badgered me to write,Continue reading “Success Story”

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Dad, My Pilot Hero

His eyes don’t focus as they once did, but the twinkle in them remains bright. Cochlear nerve damage from piloting a small plane for hundreds of hours has silenced the magic of his classical guitar and velvet tenor voice, yet his laugh is strong. Not even the loss of his beloved wife of 52 years has dampenedContinue reading “Dad, My Pilot Hero”

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Peace, Robin

A week of FaceBook tributes, people of all walks of life paying homage, an entire world saddened by the death of one of our generation’s premier entertainers… yet it could be another lifetime before we truly recognize the magnitude of this loss . I’ve always been slow, or even outright resistant to, becoming aContinue reading “Peace, Robin”