Weave the Web

In 1984 Charlie’s wife died of cancer and from then on he was a different man.  He ain’t as energetic as he use to be and he became very lonely.  He had no one to tell stories to or cook dinner for and all of his kids were grown and had moved out.  So when it was reported that Charlie had cancer and had but one year to live, he obviously took it rather hard.  He went in to a state of depression and never came out of it.  My Mom and I moved in pretty much right after this happened.  We took care of him in his last year of life.

 

The first few months were fairly normal.  Charlie spend most of his time in bed or in the living room.  As he got sicker, the days became longer;  he didn’t tell as many stories, his medication made him hallucinate, and the pain made him yell.  It was horrible.

 

In 1986 Charlie died of cancer and I couldn’t help but feel happy for him.  His pain and agony were over, and he could finally have some peace.

 

I learned a lot from Charlie, but his death taught me the most.  This may sound stupid, but he taught me how to die.  He taught me that death is just part of life and that it’s nothing to be feared.  Charlie was afraid of death, and he left screaming his head off.  I believe that we come in to this world screaming our heads off and are supposed to leave it relaxed and as happy as can be.