Long day, very sad, and very very hard for me to write this. Wanted to share with my SJ friends that the beloved Lou, unintentional hero of Giblets and countless SJ seders, died today.
He was my stepfather for 20 years. I am heartbroken and drained and overwhelmed by my mother's grief.
We knew it was coming, merciful for him, blah blah blah all the things people say. All true, but still...so hard. They waited until all the family could travel to Boca to be with him, and then they removed life support. His heart stopped soon after. My mother clutched his hand and put her ear to his chest listening for some echo of life, some proof that this could not happen, that he would never really leave her. She reached up to his face and kissed him. The heart monitor showed another beat. Then another. Then none.
I wish he had known he was something of a message board icon, with a devoted fan base that shared his life and family with him, from Thanksgiving to Yom Kippur. He craved fried
salami and Bonanza reruns and cranberry muffinettes and my mother. God, he loved my mother. Even after Alzheimers took every shred of dignity and adulthood from him, he still lit up like a bonfire when she walked into the room, even when she was shredding him for putting cantaloupe rinds in the recycling or dribbling apple juice on his good tie ('What is that dribble on your tie, Lou, is it apple juice? APPLE JUICE DRIBBLE ON YOUR TIE??')
I thought about putting this on the Giblets thread, but since our Thanksgiving this year will probably consist of shiva leftovers, I decided to keep this separate. Hope that makes sense. Besides, Lou would never want to call that much attention to himself and wreck a perfectly good Thanksgiving thread. He would want you to all go on eating, and raise a drumstick for
him, wherever you are.
I don't know how many threads I've started on this board, but I know this is the first time I ever broke down and wept before hitting 'post.'
He was my stepfather for 20 years. I am heartbroken and drained and overwhelmed by my mother's grief.
We knew it was coming, merciful for him, blah blah blah all the things people say. All true, but still...so hard. They waited until all the family could travel to Boca to be with him, and then they removed life support. His heart stopped soon after. My mother clutched his hand and put her ear to his chest listening for some echo of life, some proof that this could not happen, that he would never really leave her. She reached up to his face and kissed him. The heart monitor showed another beat. Then another. Then none.
I wish he had known he was something of a message board icon, with a devoted fan base that shared his life and family with him, from Thanksgiving to Yom Kippur. He craved fried
salami and Bonanza reruns and cranberry muffinettes and my mother. God, he loved my mother. Even after Alzheimers took every shred of dignity and adulthood from him, he still lit up like a bonfire when she walked into the room, even when she was shredding him for putting cantaloupe rinds in the recycling or dribbling apple juice on his good tie ('What is that dribble on your tie, Lou, is it apple juice? APPLE JUICE DRIBBLE ON YOUR TIE??')
I thought about putting this on the Giblets thread, but since our Thanksgiving this year will probably consist of shiva leftovers, I decided to keep this separate. Hope that makes sense. Besides, Lou would never want to call that much attention to himself and wreck a perfectly good Thanksgiving thread. He would want you to all go on eating, and raise a drumstick for
him, wherever you are.
I don't know how many threads I've started on this board, but I know this is the first time I ever broke down and wept before hitting 'post.'
