When I think of all the people I will be honoring this 70th year, family leads the way. A friend asked if I have that many people to honor - a years worth. Absolutely, and a lot more. When you are a let the flaps down type person, it takes a lot of people to help you find good direction for life. Today I honor a family member that gives me so much pleasure to review our life together and his influence. My brother, Paul, is 10 years older than me. That should give you a clue. All I can remember about Paul in my early years is we werent the best of buds! Paul took his role as big brother seriously. He became my disciplinarian regularly all the way until he left for college. When I was getting close to the end of my 7th grade year in Clinton, Arkansas, dad accepted a call to be the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Batesville. Paul and Faye lived there in an apartment during their early years of marriage. Dad moved me to Batesville to attend the final six weeks of my 7th grade year, and I had to stay with Paul and Faye. I was really sad to leave Clinton, and I wasnt looking forward to living with Paul. Maybe one of the reasons Paul was stern with me at this time is Faye became my first real girlfriend. LOL Paul had married a beautiful woman named Faye Shoemaker, and I thought I had arrived! I always liked girls, and Faye certainly was a beauty! LOL She was just 8 years older than me after all. Well, we survived that. Faye was sweet, but I wasnt her type! LOL When we moved to Batesville, Paul moved to Clinton to start owning a small grocery business. Mom, dad and I even delivered crates of eggs from Floral to Clinton for Paul to sell in the store. It was a challenging step for Paul, but he took it on. Paul didnt have too much to say to me through the years, and I didnt have much to say to him. I did like the fact he had two wonderful children. Steve was the special 1st grandchild. Adrianne was the 1st granddaughter. Paul was getting better. I dont remember much about our relationship until I was playing college basketball. One night we were playing in Conway. After the game Paul shows up in the locker room. It had been a hard fought game, and I was sitting on a bench resting. All of a sudden Paul shows up next to me. I thought, Oh no, what did I do? He said, Good game, and handed me a $5 bill. Well, that was big time during those years. And all of a sudden my big brother became really special! That began the development of a desire in me to know Paul. My senior year in college I hoped Paul would call and ask me to join him in his store. That call never came. But, Gods call on my life did. As the years went by we saw each other at family get togethers. When I went to work as a Vice Chancellor at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS), Paul and I became closer. I think the fact that I was in a more public position caught his attention. Our relationship really grew over time. Then the fateful day I will never forget came. I received a call from one of Pauls friends in Clinton saying I was needed to help Paul. He said something was wrong with him and no one was willing to talk to him about it. He wasnt an easy man to approach. The friend gave me a brief idea that Paul was losing control of his mind. I drove to Clinton and found Paul in his easy chair in the middle of the day. That was not like him. I woke him up and we talked for a bit. Finally, I asked, Are you feeling okay? He said, Yes, Im fine. I could tell he was a bit disoriented. I said, Paul, you arent fine. You have to go to the doctor as soon as possible. He said, Okay. He went to the doctor at Clinton. One of their machines was broken and they sent him to Searcy. At Searcy they found a rare tumor in the area of his forehead, in the olfactory nerve. Only 300 known cases in the world at that time. After a brief encounter with the surgeon in Searcy, Faye moved Paul to UAMS to be treated by one of the worlds best neurosurgeons. All of his efforts couldnt save him, and after a long attempt to cure him Paul died in March 2007. I miss this guy so much. I still havent been able to fully let him go. He is still with me in spirit. I guess I always wanted Paul to be proud of me, and I miss just getting to spend time with him. He was mom and dads caregiver during their later years. He was an inspiration to me, and still is. I thank God Paul Lynn Bone was my big brother. I miss you, Paul!
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 13:53:11 +0000
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