My friend, Tim, died this morning (7 Dec). I've known him for 42 years, since we were stationed together down in south Texas. When he nearly cut a finger off in his trailer, I drove him to the base dispensary and sat there listening while he joked with the corpsman sewing his finger back on. Tim's family lived in Arlington and mine in Austin, so he'd drop me in Austin when he'd drive home for a weekend, and pick me up on the way back to Kingsville. He met most of my family on these successive trips and charmed each of them. When I got married in 1974, Tim was my best man. I wasn't able to return the favor; I was in California when he married Beverly, but we visited in San Francisco on their way back from their Hawaiian honeymoon. When my large family would go camping at Inks Lake State Park, over a period of many years, we were always thrilled when Tim and Beverly were able to join us.
I mentioned in a previous post our flight down to Brownsville and back in a Piper Cherokee when I got hired by the FAA, and he and I drank plenty of Jack Daniels a few months later when I "took my leave" of that outfit. Commiserating with Tim (and Jack) made it better. In a year or so, when PATCO was at odds with the FAA, Tim and my dad discussed the problems at length. When the air traffic controllers went out on strike, my dad stunned all of us by telling Tim not to worry, he'd hide Tim if necessary from the US Marshals. My dad???
Tim and Beverly were there when we brought baby David up to the Metroplex from Austin for the first time, and they brought baby Amy to see us in Georgia a few years later. Still living in GA, we brought baby Gillian back to Texas and introduced her to "Buncle Tim" and Beverly. Eventually, I left Lockheed and got a job at General Dynamics. Finally, Tim's family and mine both lived in Arlington so, when TJ was born, I was honored to be his Godfather; Tim and I even worked for GD at the same time for a while. Later, he went to work for the IRS and I went back to Lockheed, bouncing back and forth between Marietta and Fort Worth. It was great having a friend in the IRS and I always knew where I could find some Jack Daniels.
I was at Gloria's and Bob's wedding (Tim's sister and brother-in-law), and Tim was at several of my sisters' weddings. I was stationed in some far-off land when Tim's Mom died, but made it to Pop's funeral and, of course, Tim was at my dad's funeral too. Our families have shared a lot of history since 1968 or '69. Shared. Tim was probably the most generous person I ever knew. I can't think of a thing he wouldn't do for a friend - or even a friend's friend. When I moved back to Georgia after my dad died, Tim bought dad's tiller - then for months every time he mowed Pop's lawn, he also came over and mowed my mom's lawn (and tilled her vegetable garden when needed) since I wasn't around.
Tim was in a single vehicle traffic accident in September on his way home from his grandson's first birthday celebration. He totalled his pickup truck, broke bones in his back and neck, and woke up in Parkland Hospital ICU. His prognosis wasn't good. He transferred to an acute care facility in Mansfield, TX where he underwent dialysis three times a week (following kidney surgery several years ago), was immobilized because of his back and neck injuries, and on medication drips and feeding tubes since his accident. He was only occasionally responsive for the last month and a half, but Tim's past all that now. He died peacefully about 1:30 this morning - or yesterday morning, now - and as Beverly noted, he doesn't need dialysis any more and his back and neck injuries are healed.
