There is More To Him
03/07/2011 04:29 a.m.
On March 2, 2011, the day after Tom passed, I visited Nancy (his wife) in her home. There was a crowd of friends all in different parts of the house. As I drifted from room to room, it became apparent that everyone had their own snapshot of or panoramic view of the man who is Tom Wall. All these views are him but slices of him. None of us has a complete picture, but through each other the picture becomes more complete. When I saw this interaction, as is my habit, I put pen to paper so I could plant this thought firmly in my mind. It was then I believed that there is no such thing as Tom past. It's why my focus on writing "There is More to Him" is in the present tense. It is by design so the focus is on who he is to us, rather than who he was.

I cannot in my minds eye see Tom as gone, because he is not. What I observed by watching the people who know him, is that he left a piece of himself to all of us. Nancy his partner of 40 years, his children Mandy and Zack, his grandchildren Tom and Dorothy, his son in law Jeff, his daughter in law Sarah, Nancy's brother Lonnie and his wife Deb and daughters Connie, Sally, Barbara, their children Autumn, Rachel, Page his friends of which I am one, all had this distinction.

For His children, Zack and Mandy, Tom is their father first and foremost. He understands his children are his legacy. There is always a future in children no matter what calamities are put in their path. Mandy and Zack are a reflection of persistence and their father's faith.

For Nancy she knows every nuance that comes with living with someone for 40 years. Like any long standing relationship that ebbs and flows with the ocean tide, she knows the best of Tom and those nagging thorns that drive her to distraction as we all do with our significant others.

Jeff has found his own unique place, and like Tom has that same purely analytical train of thought. Sarah is Zack's counterpoint, the one he is motivated to care for, much like Tom is for Nancy.

Lonnie Deb and crew has empathy with Tom where charismatic caring and sometimes off color Nancy is concerned. The rest of his friends that know him well, Hubert and Jan and Margaret and Dan share a common passion for beach music and Friday nights shagging at Thirsty's.

So there you have it, and like I said in the last line of the poem:

"There is no end to him
Only a beginning
Of his gifts of himself
To all of us who know him"

Yes there is more to him; what was his physical form is never going to define him. That is what makes Tom unique and special to all of us, not his final resting place but the windows of himself that he opened to all of us. When all the chaos is done, I still see him in every action the rest of us take. There is more to him.
I am currently Reflective
I am listening to mouse click