Friday, January 19, 2007

Saying Good-bye

How do you tell someone good-bye? When you know you'll never see them again as they were... You think about the last time you saw them. about the last thing you saw them do. Remember their smile, their eyes...

We lost a great member of the 2004 World Champion Red Sox Team today....to the Indians...THE INDIANS!!! He endeared himself to the Red Sox Nation with his die-hard work ethics. He played harder than any other player I can think of on that team...and it showed because Trot Nixon's hat and uniform seemed to NEVER be clean. He reminded me of a little boy whose mother just put on his Sunday's best and he couldn't wait to get home to play and get dirty...even if it meant in his best clothes. Played his heart out with everything he had, with no regard to injuries, with no regard to anything BUT helping the boys win the game!!
Trot understood the team concept that many other athletes do not get. He understands what his job is and does it. Trot was also a family man as it showed when his determination to get home on 9-11-01 for his son's birth. I remember watching the last game Trot played...I was watching it on tv. I remember him turning to the crowd and making a grand gesture of good-bye like he knew...he knew that this was his last at-bat. So that is my good-bye to Trot...

But that is baseball and not real life...how do you tell someone good-bye who you'll never see again because life cheated them. But you didn't know that it was the last time. Today was 5 years my 11 yr old nephew Dustin was killed in a snow skiiing accident. He was a little boy but a mature man inside. He got dirty as dirty could get....found all dirt holes anywhere within 10 miles of the house. He loved to fish and play all day. But he was unique in the sense he stood for what was right and insisted his friends did too or they would be history. My last visit with him was short and sweet. I wish I could go back and talk to him. I would tell him how much I love him and what he means to me...but I cannot.


How do you tell someone good-bye when you know you'll never see them again? You live your life so that they'll be proud to meet you when you go.

3 comments:

Ted D said...

Tex. Another great post. You have gone through something not alot of us had: I will say a prayer for you and your sister and family tonight. And I love how you wove Trot into the post. This has been a sad day for me too, though nowhere near your loss. I tried to cope with humor. Your nephew sounds like a special young man. Heaven has another angel Tex. That's how you have to look at it. He's much better off than we are.

Tex said...

yes he is....but we still miss him terribly.

JET said...

Oh Tex, the five year anniversary. I'm so sorry! Don't worry - your nephew knows how much you love him. He hears it every time you say it aloud, type it, or think it in your heart.