Weekend highlights

I worked Sat from 9-11am, then came home to pick up Spouse and meet the others who were caravaning to Rusty's memorial service. It was being held in his family's small country church about an hour away.  Steven & Thad, the Bobs, Joe P, Chris, Dennis & Rasaahn carpooled with us.  It was a record-breakingly hot day, 105 degrees.  The little church had air conditioning but it wasn't sufficient.  There was a visitation hour scheduled before the service, but the visitation had to be extended due to the number of people who showed up to pay their respects.  Rusty worked at the same place for 27 years and many of his colleagues from over years were there, as well as many other friends like us from the beach area.  The service was about 30 minutes long and was about as uplifting as a funeral can be.  I was glad I had thought ahead and brought 2 pocket-size packages of tissues.  I shared 1 package with those sitting close to me, and the other package I gave to a couple standing in the visitation line near my isle seat.  One of the guys was sniffling and wiping tears from his cheeks with his hand.  Without saying a word I simply pressed the tissue package against his arm.  He mouthed the words 'thank you' and I just nodded my head.  At 1 point I was struck by the beauty of sorrow.  Of course its terrible to lose someone you love and a natural reaction to this is tears.  But as I looked at so many people crammed into that tiny church full of sorrow and tears, I was struck by the beauty of it all.  Strange, I know.

When we returned home from the funeral Spouse's brother Louis and his wife Karen were here.  They had asked if they could visit with us and stay over night since they were taking the ferry the next day to Cape May.  We had a snack together, visited for a few hours, and played with Marvin.  Louis is a huge dog fan and he got a kick out of little Marvin Parker.  That evening we had dinner together at Bethany Blues BBQ and then talked until bedtime.

Sun morning we had coffee at home, then decided to go to breakfast.  Since I had to be at work at 10 I drove separately.  I worked til 1pm, then Spouse & I went grocery shopping and took Marvin for a short walk since it was still so darn hot.  That evening we had dinner at Steven & Thad's house along with Joe P and 1 of the Bobs.  In honor of our friend Rusty who had given us 2 bottles of 'discounted' sparkling wine last New Years Eve, we used the sparkling wine to make Champagne Darlings and toasted Rusty.  It seemed fitting.

Tears of sadness

My typical Weekend Highlights post is being pre-empted today in honor of our friend Rusty.

Late Sat night Rusty was riding his bicycle home when he was struck by a drunk driver and killed.  According to witnesses and the police report, Rusty was thrown onto the hood of the Jeep and the bike went underneath.  When the driver it a curb, Rusty flew off the Jeep into the street.  The driver attempted to drive away but had to stop again to pull the bike out from under the Jeep.  

The police had been called by a witness and since they were nearby, they arrested the driver who refused to take a sobriety test.  An ambulance was also called and Rusty was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rusty was a dear friend and this tragedy is difficult to process.  Although he was the source of lots of fun and laughter, its hard to think of him now without tears.

Although I'd never want anything bad to happen to any of my friends, Rusty was one of the people I'd least want something to happen to.  He was always cheerful, optimistic, smiling, generous, and kind.  He did volunteer work and raised money for charities.  Rusty always joined us for birthday parties, potluck dinners, Christmas tree trimming parties, and 4th of July cook-outs.  Those events will seem a little empty in the future without Rusty.

Rest in peace, dear friend.