Passings

Within a short time of posting my last blog on Monday night, my Dad, George H. Axinn, passed away peacefully. The suddenness of his passing took the world by surprise. It has been a rough week to say the least. The loss has been felt profoundly by so many people - dozens of notes of condolence have been received by members of my family. But there are some strange twists to this whole episode as well.
     The first of the bizarre twists was that I learned that my Aunt Carole, my Dad's sister had been struck with a malady that put her in intensive care on the same day that my Dad passed. My cousins rushed to be with her, and she is expected to recover. (Thank the Gods.) But the suddenness and severity of her illness stunned us all. I had just spoken to her the day before, and there was no sign of any problem.
     The next bizarre twist was that I checked in to the local resort since family members were arriving and everyone needed someplace to sleep - especially me. Many of you know that my Mom has terminal liver cancer, and has been under hospice care for some months now. I had been with my Mom 24/7 for a few weeks, and had not had much rest. After ordering a meal and consuming it, I passed out, for what I had hoped would be a good long rest. Unfortunately, about five hours later I woke up violently ill from, apparently, a case of food poisoning. Within 24 hours I was once again able to eat a little and could participate in the arrangements for Dad's memorial service.
     The final bit of bizarreness was that we received word that my Dad's dear friend and assistant from Nepal, Dwarika Shresthra passed away on Thursday. Again, this was a huge shock to us all. My brother, Bill said that he was sure that Dad and Dwarika were together now.
     There was a wonderful memorial service at the Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson yesterday. It lasted over two hours and was filled with wonderful music, great stories and testimonials by dozens of people - and an enormous chocolate cake - which my Dad would have loved. My sister Cathe spoke, and then my little brother Bill. Bill was eloquent and his talk was deeply moving. I was very proud of my siblings. Both Larry and Nick got up and said a few, well chosen words - again, I was very proud. My brother, Paul created a great slide show of pictures of Dad which was enjoyed by everyone in attendance. The Elders of the Church asked for one of Dad's MSU caps, which I had laid on the alter, and it will now hang in perpetuity in the fellowship hall in his honor. It was a long and exhausting day, so I came back to the hotel and slept long and hard.
     I awoke early this morning. I made myself a cup of joe and went to sit out on the balcony to watch the sunrise over the dessert. A humming bird came over to drink the dew from the tree hanging next to me... so close I could almost touch it. And it occurred to me... Dad and Dwarika have gone on ahead to get things ready for Mom.