Brace yourselves because this might become a long post. Thirteen years ago, I met Amberly Hershberger (before she was Nichols) and, very shortly thereafter, met her Uncle Galen and Aunt Lynda. We did some house-sitting at what we called The Palace -- Galen and Lyndas very cool niece-and-nephew hangout home where we were encouraged to, while taking care of the dogs, partake of the bar, the pool, the hot tub, and to invite all of our friends over and have big parties. Im serious, this is what Galen told us to do. Lynda either agreed or loved that man enough to go along with his shenanigans, and so dogs were dog-sat, parties were had, and Galen and Lynda were loved not just because of their awesome bar and TV and waterbed and hot tub and pool but, soon enough, because I came to know what incredible people they really were. Six or seven years ago (the time just bleeds together in nostalgia, doesnt it?) while Galen and Lynda were housecleaning clients of mine, my husband and I had gotten custody of our two boys and were house hunting in the Middlebury area because we wanted to keep them in a familiar school system. Every other week, Id drive down CR 35 and into Westlake Estates to clean, to hang with Galen when he got off work and have a drink, chat, and then drive back home to Elkhart. One day, I saw a house for sale by owner a block away. And, by a miracle of God, the owner was willing to land contract it to my husband and me until we could get a traditional mortgage. We moved in and became neighbors with Galen and Lynda. After awhile, I no longer cleaned for them, but still loved to visit, swim, hang out, have a drink, and just talk. I found myself seeing Galen a bit more often because his work hours were similar to mine, and Id get done cleaning a house and go down for a swim and/or drink, or just because Id had a crappy day and wanted to vent, or because I had some good venison I wanted to share. But Ive gotten to spend a good deal of time with Lynda as well and one thing is true of them both: they are two of the most generous, loving, caring, and compassionate people youd ever want to meet. Over the years, any time I needed ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING, they were there. If my furnace made a screwy noise, Galen was over in fifteen minutes to figure it out. If my dogs were going to be in the house for more than ten hours, one of them would come down and let them out for us. If we needed to borrow a snowblower for an hour, it was there. If both of our cars died within a month of each other and we could only afford to buy a cheap old 95 Buick but still desperately needed a second car, they let us borrow one of theirs any time, even for extended periods. It is as though I have had an aunt and uncle of my own that live a block away. And then, one time, Galen got cancer. And I really, REALLY hate cancer. My heart is breaking as I type this because my friend, my FAMILY MEMBER, lost his long- and hard-fought battle this morning around 5 AM. Ill never hear him pick on me for drinking a Smirnoff Ice instead of a rum and Coke while Im on this planet again. He wont drive down to my house and let my kid in because she forgot her house key at school. I wont call up to hear him say, Hey, Steph! Yeah, come on over, the pools open! But I tell you what I will have. I will have the tremendous memories of a man that I have loved as an uncle for all of these years. I will have a story to tell to new friends every time I drink a Smirnoff Ice. I will have the incredible joy of sharing jokes and laughs with the rest of his friends and family. And I will have an overwhelming peace knowing that hes not suffering today but that hes going to be grinning from Upstairs every time Michigan loses, every time Notre Dame wins, and every time I call up Lynda so we can have a drink and a swim. I cant wait to see him again someday. Galen Hershberger, I love you, and if I had a rum and Coke in front of me right now, Id drink it in your honor no matter how disgusting I think it tastes.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:44:02 +0000
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