Goodbye Trouble

Years ago, I had a vision one afternoon of walking up a stone path to a beautiful building. As I walked the path, a huge tree stood not too far from the front doors. A voice, told me to pick anything from the tree I wished to carry with me. Looking at the tree, so much was available from fruits to objects and cradled on a branch I saw the head of an ancient. I chose the head and pulled it down from the tree. Looking into the face, I knew I had chosen wisdom to be with me as a gift from this great tree. Carefully cradling this head, I approached the building and entering into a long hallway leading back to a rotunda type room. In this room around the circular walls were many windows, each a view into another time and place. A great tree outside seemed to ground the energy for all which existed within this room and from this vision remained a sense of greatness in having many branches to provide and sustain all we have chosen to see and view.

This past week our town lost a pillar in so many ways as his branch spread beyond this Earth. He was Doc, Santa Claus at Christmas, philanthropist, civic-leader, and provider of faith, trust, and goodness to our city. Our town has mourned his passing, as in the past; many of his time and strength one by one have turned their branches out to the universe.
This past week my daughter also lost a friend, she treasured. An elderly man and his wife who regularly visited the restaurant where she works, faithfully each week coming in and being a part of her branches of life. He would tease that someday they would dance across the tables and she would reply, "You are trouble!" Hence, he was only known as "Trouble." A few weeks ago, his wife brought him to the restaurant. In the short time since his last visit, he had yellowed and showed signs of being sickened. Never mentioning to my daughter that he was ill, he still teased, laughed, and walked away that day. My daughter knew in her heart, she had seen him for the last time. Last week, his wife came alone to tell her, on the day before he passed from liver cancer. His time at the restaurant and visits had meant so much to Trouble; arrangements were made on that day to have a dinner after services for him. My daughter shed many tears over the last many days for the loss of Trouble.
She has always been a magnet for the fatherly/grandfatherly energy which crosses her path, they love her, etch out time each week to see her – and at times leave her behind with tears of saying goodbye as branches once again spread upward from this world. Today she searched to find an obituary for Trouble. Just one last time to feel, the goodbye of a friend. As she searched the web for our local papers, she had found him. Look Mom, he was a Doc, civic leader, philanthropist, Santa! He was so much! Trouble had a great life! Trouble was the Doc our city mourned as she had mourned her special friend. Without knowledge of which he was other than, a great person she had came to love. She did not carry any expectations of what he could do for her, who he could influence, or how many lives or years he was a part of this city. She just mused and found a love for a gentle elderly man whom until the end - insisted, "Someday they would dance across the tables." I think each of them found just perfect beauty on a regular set of visits brought together by branches of the tree of life, taking a pause to rest in each other's life. The wisdom of the ages lives in each of them forever more.