I know last week I said this week’s story was going to be about the Pumpkin Carving Contest, but I decided it needed to be about some events at our Mom’s funeral last weekend. Since I am the quarterback of writing these stories, I am officially calling an audible.
Let’s start with my P.S. from last week when I referenced the phrase “My Mother the Hereford” in regard to my brother Craig’s talk. Craig said that most breeds of cattle when they are faced with a bad storm will turn their backs to the storm and travel the same direction the wind is blowing. This causes the herd to bunch up and creates a possibility of the calves to get trampled on. The Hereford will face the storm and walk toward it and through it. He pointed out how our Mom always faced every situation head on with strength and courage. It was an excellent example that described our Mom perfectly. Now I have always joked about being the favorite, but as you can now see that would have to be Craig. Who else could call Mom a cow and get away with it? At her own funeral on top of it!
To put this next part in the right context, myself and all my siblings said a few words during the service. If you remember my story about my brother Curt, I wrote how Curt played basketball with Phil Johnson and they were coached by Dick Motta. After the gravesite service, we all returned to the church for a luncheon and a special presentation to my brother Curt’s wife Pam from Dick Motta and members of the high school team that he won the championship with. When Dick Motta got up to speak he said, “Well, I’m not Shane. I need a microphone.” Now you can say what you want, but have you had an NBA championship coach tell you that you’ve got a big mouth? I didn’t think so. As I was talking to Kristi about it, she said, “You’re quite proud of that, aren’t you?” I replied, “Of course I am. I was always told to make sure the coach notices you.”
We talked about how Mom always said she hoped it would be good weather for her funeral. Well, the weather did not cooperate. It was overcast and gloomy. On our way out to the cemetery, it started to rain a little and the wind was cold and blustery. I was thinking how it should be better weather for her funeral. “She deserves nicer weather than this,” I thought. Just then I could hear my Mom say, “The weather isn’t that bad, we’ve been on cattle roundups worse than this.” I thought about that for a minute and I remembered there were times at the roundup the snow was blowing so bad you couldn’t see ten feet in front of you. Our mom was telling me there will always be difficult times to deal with, but it’s important to keep working hard and moving forward. She was telling me we didn’t quit when it’s was difficult at the roundup so we can’t quit now. That is a perfect example of who our Mom is. I am comforted to know she will always be there to give me strength and guidance.
I want to thank everyone again for your thought s and prayers. It helped me more than I can say. Thanks for reading.
Next week: Say Boo to Cancer
P.S. In retrospect, I think they meant to get noticed by the coach in a positive way.