The Best Man I Ever Met

I could be wrong, but I do believe that Jerry Laux, my brother-in-law, was as close to Jesus as you could get, not in a spiritual sense, but in a loving way.

When he fell in love with my sister and then found out she had two teenage boys, he did not run. He embraced them as his own. And he was so kind. Throughout the years, I must have told him at least ten times, “Jerry, thanks for making my sister happy.” His typical response was, “It’s not always easy.”

He had called me a few days before. I was in San Diego, and he was in Massachusetts. He was in his late eighties and couldn’t play golf or tennis anymore. All of his close friends were gone, and Jerry told me he was going to ‘off’ himself and wanted to say goodbye. He was always thinking of others, and he thought of me when he was about to die. What a guy! I told him not to do anything until I came to see him the next day, but he really was ready to go. If I had a gun, I would have shot my sister, not him!

While he was literally dying in his bed, I had to grab my sister with both arms saying, “How can you speak to him like that; he is your husband for Christ’s sake?”

Ten years ago I lectured her, and my cousin Barbara, on separate occasions, about not taking their husbands for granted. I guess it went in one ear and out the other. All up in smoke. There’s nothing worse, from what I’ve witnessed since childhood, than a relationship in which the woman dominates, from my mother Ida to Aunt Julia to Mrs. Delany as well as others.

Jeanie, in her article on ‘KINDNESS’ says, ‘the first rule of kindness is doing something for someone else and not expecting anything in return.’ And Jerry was all that! She talks about writing a short note of thanks to your partner. Jerry did more than that with Hallmark cards that contained wisdom regarding love and helpfulness. He always said hello to strangers, and engaged most strangers.

Kitty Cosmos was the most fascinating woman I ever met. We met in a bar in Manhattan. She was from Lake Tahoe. We fell in love and made love that night as she was leaving the next day back to Tahoe…We just had to! The next morning, she sent a dozen long-stem red roses in a gorgeous vase to my office. I was overwhelmed. Every man and woman in the office (about 20 of them) were jealous.

And you would not guess in a hundred years how Kitty Cosmos made her high income working only 6 months a year, never, even in a thousand years. Selling popcorn on Lake Tahoe, that’s how! I swear to God.

So there you have it, Jeannie with her ‘Kindness,’ Jesus with his goodness, Kitty with her uniqueness, and good old Jerry Laux who combined the best qualities of them all.

Hey Jerry, I want you to escort me through the pearly gates when it’s my time… If I actually make it up there!

SWEET ANGEL

Be careful sweet angel I implore thee, as you find your way along your journey, as you search for what you need to find, be careful sweet angel for you were born amidst a suffering world that long ago denied its very own pain.

Hydras of contempt were conceived from this denial, a fear of all things mysterious was born, an eruption of projection grew in powerful circles, and the likes of you and those like you, so different in your spontaneity and joy, became inconsequential to their pronouncements.

A darkness intruded with few taking note, wings like yours cursed their routines, your insight made them look upon themselves, their reactions drew dire consequences until even the fundamental ideas you hold sacred were boxed within vaults hidden well beneath the surface.

Be aware of your limitations here for you cannot compete with the bottom tier where smiles and handshakes of sand change with expedient waves, political correctness is the only norm, and the value is the value of winning at any cost.

Such heaviness and possessions impede upon the bliss within your heart, few can hear the melody of your voice, the golden keys you hold cannot unlock the chains of an archaic testament and a fearful exactitude.

Be careful sweet angel I implore thee, for here past and future deny present, confusion is everywhere, the Pharaohs of Egypt who abhorred change still reign, within these vacuums you cannot fly, and the falcon and falconers stand ready and armed to imprison your glory.