Goodbye, Denny!
Fare Thee Well, Dear Brother!
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Goodbye, Denny!
4/25/23
Hello, Everyone!
I wasn’t there when my brother, Denny, passed away yesterday at the age of 82 – that is physically; but I was there via phone connection. Denny was very ill due to his having a terminal lung cancer. He was too weak to talk, but I do believe he listened when I talked via speaker phone – and his family witnessed him passing on in the midst of my trying to tell him goodbye.
I am not sure what I said to Denny, but I suspect Denny found it somewhat comforting as he went to sleep with his eyes wide open, breathing no more. Denny’s dear wife, Pat, and three older kids - Kim, Ken, and Jeff – were also comforted, I think, in realizing that Denny had completed his journey this time around and had secured a lasting peace.
For what it’s worth, I think it’s good to reflect a little on one of us dying. Perspective, I believe, is a good thing – and we all have to go through what Denny went through yesterday. Like one of my songs says, we are all THE SAME. That is really nice to know. Isn’t it?
So, carry on, Denny! We will all be coming soon!
Let me finish with another song I wrote many years ago called WHO’S TO SAY? Nancy & I will be away awhile with siblings and family where Denny lived in Montana.
Love to All! Be in touch!
Gently,
Francis William Bessler (Frank, Will) and
his lovely supportive wife, Nancy Shaw
WHO’S TO SAY?
By
Francis William Bessler
Atlanta, Georgia
1983; enhanced with a 3rd verse: 11/26/2006
REFRAIN:
Who’s to say who will stay?
Who’s to say? Who’s to say?
Who’s to say who will stay
on this earth another day?
And who’s to say who will go
where the winds will only know?
Who’s to say?
Who’s to say?
Who’s to say?
There’s a time for us all to live
and a time for us all to die,
a time for us all to raise our crops
while the sun, it still does shine.
There’s a time for wedding bands
and a time for gown and caps
and a time for us all to find
what in our hearts will last.
Refrain.
There’s a time for us all to stand and speak
and a time to listen well,
a time for us all to love a child
and to be a child ourselves.
There’s a time to watch the sunset
and a time to court the moon
and a time for us all to see the world
as just a great big room.
Refrain.
Added 11/26/2006:
There’s a time to find the truth
and a time to attend the wise,
a time for us all to wonder
about the meaning of our lives.
There’s a time to offer thanks
and a time to heal the ill,
and a time for us all to decide
just what should be our wills.
Refrain.
ENDING:
Yes, Who’s to say?
Who’s to say?
Who’s to say?