Flyinbowtie
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I did.
On Fathers Day at about 0700 my phone rang. Early phone calls are usually bad, but when I looked at the caller ID the name was that of my dear friend and former partners son.
I thought for a brief second he was calling about Fathers day, but that made no sense so early...I answered it.
I could hear a man sobbing.
The man sobbing is a former United States Army Ranger, MOS Sniper, and is a current peace officer.
"Jeff, my Dad died early this morning"....
My guts twisted into a knot instantly.
He told me he was on his way to the Reno area, and I told him to call me when he got to his folks' place. I told him to drive safe, wed talk soon.
Cindy heard my voice change and came to my side.
I told her that Don had died in the night...and we both cried.
Don..how to explain this....Don who he was...
He was my dear friend. For 20 years we had each other's back at work. We had been partners for half of that 20, he was second in command on my team when I was a patrol sgt, and was my lead FTO when I ran the FTO Team. Solid as a rock. US Army veteran, 20 years US army and Nat'l Guard combined. Married to a woman he met in Germany while active duty, together for 40 plus years, 4 children, numerous grandchildren.
I can't begin to share the stories of calls we handled....we saw things humans do not want see and had to do things humans are not wired to do. Only once did we ever let go and really speak the words about what we had handled at work, we were at Sand Mountain (I got him and his wife hooked on the SXS thing) and were sitting around one evening with my son and a couple other young men and just sorta let er rip.
More than once the people at that campfire have talked about that night.
We had each others back, and we handled business.
Don was a complex yet simple guy. 100% patriot. He didn't suffer fools well, and if you asked him a question you better be ready for the answer, because you would get the truth...straight up.
If you were in his inner circle of friends you knew where you stood. You also knew if you called for help he was going to be there ASAP.
He was a Peace Officer in the highest traditions of the profession.
He had a huge soft spot for kids. At Christmas time families in our area who needed and rated some help would find him at their door with Christmas Dinner Fixins, and me behind him carrying a bike or two...but God help you if you hurt a child....
His manner of death isn't important, he had a lot of challenges with health issues and his body simply had nothing left to give...Don never gave up or quit on anything in his 70 years. In the end his body was simply unable to continue living.
He was one of the good guys. He made a difference in the lives of the people he came in contact with at work and just living life.
Last weekend we had a Celebration of Life for him along the shores of the lake by which he and his wife had lived for the past 8 years or so, a place he liked a lot.
This event brought a lot of people together, his family, veterans who had served with him, a couple of cops, and people...people who's life he had touched.
There were a lot of tears.
Some were mine.
His son the Ranger and I have a special connection, I love him very much, and have told him I will be there for him if he needs me, and that Cindy and I are only a couple hours from his Mom if she needs something. When she is ready I am going to help her sell their once used 2 yr old Work and Play Toyhauler, but she is keeping his pickup and their Turbo S. She is going to learn how to drive it, and we are planning a trip in the fall to a place he enjoyed.
Since Don passed and my laptop died and the first replacement then failed Whiteworks started a thread about "what is enough"
Indeed. I don't think there is a blanket answer for that question. It depends on what you value, what matters to you.
Donnie...his life was well lived, and he made a big difference in the world he lived in. He was a force for good.
That, I think, is "Enough"
Sometime, a couple years ago I guess, we started ending our weekly phone calls, (the ones where we solved all the worlds problems in a few minutes) with the words
"I love you, brother"
I am glad for that.
It will take some time before I can get to where I smile without tears when I think of him, but I will get there. He would want it that way. Smile, laugh, remember...remember it all, because the bad times just make the good times that much sweeter.
I love you brother.
Godspeed, Donnie.
On Fathers Day at about 0700 my phone rang. Early phone calls are usually bad, but when I looked at the caller ID the name was that of my dear friend and former partners son.
I thought for a brief second he was calling about Fathers day, but that made no sense so early...I answered it.
I could hear a man sobbing.
The man sobbing is a former United States Army Ranger, MOS Sniper, and is a current peace officer.
"Jeff, my Dad died early this morning"....
My guts twisted into a knot instantly.
He told me he was on his way to the Reno area, and I told him to call me when he got to his folks' place. I told him to drive safe, wed talk soon.
Cindy heard my voice change and came to my side.
I told her that Don had died in the night...and we both cried.
Don..how to explain this....Don who he was...
He was my dear friend. For 20 years we had each other's back at work. We had been partners for half of that 20, he was second in command on my team when I was a patrol sgt, and was my lead FTO when I ran the FTO Team. Solid as a rock. US Army veteran, 20 years US army and Nat'l Guard combined. Married to a woman he met in Germany while active duty, together for 40 plus years, 4 children, numerous grandchildren.
I can't begin to share the stories of calls we handled....we saw things humans do not want see and had to do things humans are not wired to do. Only once did we ever let go and really speak the words about what we had handled at work, we were at Sand Mountain (I got him and his wife hooked on the SXS thing) and were sitting around one evening with my son and a couple other young men and just sorta let er rip.
More than once the people at that campfire have talked about that night.
We had each others back, and we handled business.
Don was a complex yet simple guy. 100% patriot. He didn't suffer fools well, and if you asked him a question you better be ready for the answer, because you would get the truth...straight up.
If you were in his inner circle of friends you knew where you stood. You also knew if you called for help he was going to be there ASAP.
He was a Peace Officer in the highest traditions of the profession.
He had a huge soft spot for kids. At Christmas time families in our area who needed and rated some help would find him at their door with Christmas Dinner Fixins, and me behind him carrying a bike or two...but God help you if you hurt a child....
His manner of death isn't important, he had a lot of challenges with health issues and his body simply had nothing left to give...Don never gave up or quit on anything in his 70 years. In the end his body was simply unable to continue living.
He was one of the good guys. He made a difference in the lives of the people he came in contact with at work and just living life.
Last weekend we had a Celebration of Life for him along the shores of the lake by which he and his wife had lived for the past 8 years or so, a place he liked a lot.
This event brought a lot of people together, his family, veterans who had served with him, a couple of cops, and people...people who's life he had touched.
There were a lot of tears.
Some were mine.
His son the Ranger and I have a special connection, I love him very much, and have told him I will be there for him if he needs me, and that Cindy and I are only a couple hours from his Mom if she needs something. When she is ready I am going to help her sell their once used 2 yr old Work and Play Toyhauler, but she is keeping his pickup and their Turbo S. She is going to learn how to drive it, and we are planning a trip in the fall to a place he enjoyed.
Since Don passed and my laptop died and the first replacement then failed Whiteworks started a thread about "what is enough"
Indeed. I don't think there is a blanket answer for that question. It depends on what you value, what matters to you.
Donnie...his life was well lived, and he made a big difference in the world he lived in. He was a force for good.
That, I think, is "Enough"
Sometime, a couple years ago I guess, we started ending our weekly phone calls, (the ones where we solved all the worlds problems in a few minutes) with the words
"I love you, brother"
I am glad for that.
It will take some time before I can get to where I smile without tears when I think of him, but I will get there. He would want it that way. Smile, laugh, remember...remember it all, because the bad times just make the good times that much sweeter.
I love you brother.
Godspeed, Donnie.
