Recap of the night

Tonight was kind of a blur, as I expected. I couldn't tell you half of the names of the people that attended... well, maybe half. Okay, a little more than half. But, there were quite a few people there that I didn't know or recognize until they introduced themselves to me.

It was an amazing turn out. And, I know a lot of people who couldn't make it today that will be there tomorrow. I knew my dad was a well liked person, but I've never seen all his friends in one place... Astonishing.

It was a nice, casual affair with country music and a slide show that Angie put together with pictures she and I scavenged for. Blue jeans and t-shirts. I wore my B & M shirt proudly. I guess it was Max (the 'M') who smiled when he noticed.

The line of people waiting to get through the crowd to our family reached out the door! I had to start making my way backward through the line so I could get outside to have a cigarette! It took me over ten minutes, and I was abbreviating conversations. I'm not complaining... I'm impressed.

There were several blasts from the past. Several people that I figured had fallen off the face of the earth and have no idea how they were contacted. And, some people that I would of never guessed had known my father. There were several instances where I had people saying to each other, "Wow, what are you doing here?"

It was good.

Mom, Jeff, Angie and I headed back to the house. Mark and Teresa came over. And Elizabeth. And Kerry. And Judy. And Aron. And Shawn. And Tom and Paul. It was great to just 'hang out' with the old neighborhood.

Tomorrow might be a little harder, emotionally. I think the hardest thing is seeing other peoples reactions. A lot of people didn't know that Dad had cancer. A lot of people knew Dad had cancer, but thought it "wasn't that bad" or it wouldn't be so quick. But, I saw my dad frequently, and was thankful to see him go when he did. It would of been miserable to see him hang on longer if he remained how he was the last couple of days.

Don't get me wrong. I miss him already. But, I know he's okay now.