Benny and Amelia, Easter weekendI had plans to write this really poignant post about Darryl's dad, but now that I'm sitting at the keyboard, I don't really know what to say. How do you really comment on someone's life in a blog post, for Pete's sake?
Mr. Benny was such a presence in our family. Over the past week, we've shared our favorite "Benny memories," and they are quite extensive...and hilarious. Every one of them made us laugh. Even as we were driving with Darryl's brother and sister and their spouses to the funeral home to tend to details and make arrangements, we were joking about how he would probably be disappointed that we weren't buying his casket from Costco. That man LOVED warehouse stores, and even a few weekends ago when he came to Atlanta for Amelia's baby dedication, he was able to muster up the strength to walk the aisles of Costco.
On Christmas mornings, he would give each of us two plain white envelopes marked with just our name, and each envelope was filled with cash. One was for our birthday, and one was for Christmas. It didn't matter if the birthday was in June or October, he gave it all out on Christmas Day. (And cash always fits, right?)
He often called things by the wrong name. My favorite example of this was several years ago when Darryl and his brother, sister, dad, and I went to the Sugar Bowl, and Dayton (Darryl's brother) wanted to go to Cafe du Monde for beignets. Mr. Benny kept calling them "beagles." (He also kept asking why they didn't serve bacon and eggs.)
When he called on the phone, his conversations usually started with, "What's going down around the town?"
He loved dogs, and boy, did they love him.
Even though he wasn't the most outspoken with his emotions, I often saw him kiss his grandchildren on the head when he held them in his lap.
I think what makes me the most sad is that Amelia will not know her grandfather or her grandmother on Darryl's side, and they were both remarkable people.
We will miss him.
4 comments:
Mr. Benny sounds like he was a cool guy. I'm so sorry for your loss.
We had Darryl's family in our home on several occasions through the years. I loved fixing for Benny. He seemed to enjoy everything so much. One time I was fixing fried chicken and had heard that he liked chicken backs so I checked several grocery stores before I found a package of chicken backs. It was worth the effort. He ate heartily and took the leftovers home with him. (After all, who else wanted them?) He also liked my "real mashed potatoes". I, too, feel badly that Amelia will not know him as she grows up. I know that he loved her and that he tried very hard to make it to her baby dedication just a few weeks before he died. He will be missed.
You did a good job with your post! The pictures of him with Amelia will be very special to her one day. You might want to make a small photo collage for her room.
My parents always spoke highly of Mr. B. Darryl's mom was a sweetie. They sure did a good job raising their kids. That says so much.
Thanks for sharing this time with us. I know it's been difficult on all of you.
Sweet tribute. Print this, and save it for Amelia to read one day. I'm so sorry for your loss!
Post a Comment