| | Warning: very, very sad
Yesterday, Monk had emailed me to contact her about Mr. M (our neighbor), so I had kinda figured that it had to have been bad. It was. He passed away. I was pretty bummed about it, but it wasn't until two minutes after I hung up the phone when I started crying. Like, crying. All the happy memories I had of Mr. M came rushing to my mind. My family moved in next door to him and his wife when I was six years old (he was prolly 60). I never knew him that well, but he was a really generous, decent person. He was very good to us and he watched out for our family.
He would do little things for us all the time. He grew his own vegetable garden, and during the summer, he would share his cherry tomatoes and blackberries. His blackberries were the best. I've had blackberries since, and none can compare to Mr. M's. His were always, always incredibly sweet.
Our families shared a yearly tradition. Each Christmas, our family would give his a box of Asian pears, and the M's would give us a two pound box of See's chocolates. My parents rarely ever bought us candy, and if it was, it wasn't choco. It'll be some Asian candy that had prunes in it or something. So to us kids, getting that box of See's was like, the best. We would make it last for a month. (Needless to say, when I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I totally connected).
One time, our school had a fundraiser. You know those types where you have a catalog and try to get ppl to buy stuff from it. All my life, I never had anyone buy anything from those fundraiser catalogs. But one day, Cat and I were walking home from school, and we decided to ask the M's. Not only did he and his wife each buy something, but they told us to pick something that we wanted, and that they would buy it for us! They would not take no for an answer. To me, that meant a lot.
When Mr. M realized that we wanted newspapers, he would store them up for us. Every few weeks Cat or I would go over w/ a wheelbarrow and collect them. He would give us a bag of Hershey's chocolates (Kisses, Hugs, but usually Nuggets) along with them. Like I said before, we never got treats like that (we knew better than to ask our parents), so it was really cool of him.
I also remember one summer, when I was watering the farm, Mr. M was in his garden and we just chewed the fat over the fence. We must have gabbed for an hour or so. It was my first time really talking to him. I guess I was in high school by then. Anyways, we got to talking about movies, and he found out that I had never seen Casablanca before, so he lent it to me. He ended up lending me quite a few tapes of other things. One was a documentary on WWII and Hitler.
When I was going to start college, he called me over. I thought it was just another newspaper run, but he gave me a coffee can filled with quarters. He said to consider it as laundry money. Since I'd be a poor student living in the dorms, I would need all the quarters I could get. There was at least a hundred bucks worth of quarters in there. It was incredibly generous and thoughtful.
As I got older, I visited home less and less, but whenever I was home, I would go over to the M's and say hello. He never confused me for one of my sisters. He always knew it was me. I was afraid that he might forget my name as he got older and as we saw each other less, but he always remembered.
A few months ago, I introduced Gema to Mr. M. Now that I think about it, I think that was the last time I saw him. He gave us money as a wedding gift. I knew that at this time in his life, money must have been really tight. (Mrs. M was sick before she passed away, so the medical and funeral bills must have been atrocious).
The last few times I saw Mr. M, he was increasingly morbid about his own existence. About how he wasn't sure if he'd see another Christmas. When the important ppl in your life die on you, I can understand the feeling. He lived into his eighties. I'll always remember him fondly.
His funeral is this Friday. Please rest in peace, Mr. M. |
| | Posted 6/2/2009 3:23 PM - 24 Views - 10 eProps - 6 comments
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Sorry about the deaths of Mr. and Mrs. M. It is very hard to lose loved ones. You really had some nice neighbors, and it is terrible to see them go. I hope you're all right.
Sorry you are stuck in a tiny apartment with inconvenient dining situations. I hope you can get a bigger and affordable apartment soon. That is a good idea for tables. I've never thought of that. Most of my furniture is foldable or plastic drawers because I have to move often. For eating, I have a tray table and metal folding chair.
Sorry you're sick. I hope you feel better. I tend to get sick from too little sleep, and being on a trip can do that.
I know what you mean about growing up. I feel the same way, and often wonder if I'm too old for certain things, anime and manga included. I feel that I'm a kid and will always be a kid, especially after the things my parents said a few months ago. That is one reason I don't want to have kids. I would never be able to handle them.
Actually, I think age should not be a factor in fandom. I've written quite a few entries in the past about how the words "childish" and "immature" are overused, stereotypical, and should not exist. As long as it doesn't cause harm, then it's fine. I'm older than you, and there are still anime, manga, and fanfics I follow. I've also written fanfics. I think I've seen someone in her 40s (already a parent) write fanfics, too.