Mom

The cancer came back. Cancer is never nice when it comes back. In her final days, the Lord dealt gently with Mom. And for all my days, the Lord was good to me through her. For these two gifts I am thankful.

In one of my last visits with Mom, in between her bouts of drowsiness, I got her to tell me about movie stars she liked. In a sleepy voice she said she liked Peter Lawford and "his gang". Now, I am no expert on Peter Lawford and I didn't exactly remember him having a gang. I asked who his gang was, though I had an inkling. "Oh, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin . . . ." she trailed off.  That's what I thought. It was the Rat Pack. I think most people would have suggested that the Rat Pack was Sinatra's gang, not Lawford's. No matter. I told her that I saw "Ocean's Eleven" and she told me she liked that one. Then she mentioned that they made "Ocean's Twelve", but it wasn't as good.  She said the sequels are never as good.

I have picked up the notion that Mom kind of had a thing for the swarthy, Italian types with flashing eyes. She liked the aforementioned Lawford and she liked singer Tony Bennett. One of her favorite baseball players was Joe Torre. In fact, she kind of made a big deal out of giving me her Joe Torre card a while back.

There was one decidedly un-Italian, un-swarthy type that she had a thing for, and this thing lasted for over 49 years of marriage, before Dad passed in 1999. And why not, given his excellent taste in sweaters? This picture is from their first year of marriage, outside of their first house in Ozark, about 1950. Their car is a '41 Ford.

I think these two kids were very much in love in those days and they remained loving and gentle toward each other for as long as Dad lived.

Here's Tony for Mom, one more time. Farewell and Godspeed, Mom.