Sunday, November 05, 2006

wally

Recently, a friend of mine passed away from cancer. He was 66. I met him when I was 18 at the Elks Lodge when I first went to work there as a waitress/dishwasher. My dad belonged to the club and introduced me to everyone. Wally and his brother Cliff always stood out as some of the best guys there. Wally was actually always my favorite. I was only a waitress there for a little while, but later I came back to work as a bartender and I joined the Elks myself as the youngest member at 21. I joined just after my birthday. ;) I used to work Sunday afternoons when it was really slow in the bar and many times i would call my parents up to have them come hang out so I wouldnt be bored. Eventually, Wally and his wife Joyce started coming up on Sundays to keep me company as well. I always remember being so glad they showed up because they were both just so fun to be around. Wally always had lots of jokes, and was really great at getting you so involved in this story and he told it so well that you didnt realize he was telling you a joke until the punchline. And he got everyone, all the time with those kind of jokes. He was very loving and readily expressed how much he cared for you. And his favorite word was "awesome". "You're awesome!" "I really do love you" and he would always tell the ladies how pretty they were. I can still here the way he would tell me I was so awesome and how much he loved seeing me at the bar.

I havent actually seen Wally in quite some time. I quit bartending at the Lodge when i was about 5 months pregnant with Logan, but I had been up there a few times since and he always greeted me with a hug and a kiss, and a "Youre awesome!"... When i found out he was in the hospital, i planned to go see him. But before I could, he passed away. So today I went to his service. And so did about 200 other folks. Wally touched alot of people's lives in such a big way. It was incredibly heartwarming to see what a huge turnout he had. Many people agreed that he would have been shocked to see that many people there for him, since he was a rather humble man. I teared up a few times as I listened to different people speak about their experiences with wally. It was a beautiful ceremony and after everyone did what wally loved to do: Party with friends and have a good time.

So, here's to you Wally- i am glad to have known you and will miss you greatly.

Kristie :: 8:45 PM :: 1 comments

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