How do we define greatness?
Mohammed Ali was the greatest – all you had to do was ask him and the record books. So is it the palatable accomplishments of one’s life that most people define greatness?
How does an ordinary life compare?
Our family is blessed with many great men disguised as everyday heroes. Fathers, uncles, brothers, brother-in-laws, cousins and sons – men who served in the military and men to taught. They are men who can wheel and deal, and others who make things right by tinkering.
Yet I’m sure our family is no different from yours.
Our large family lost one of those great men this week. His warrior life of the past 22 months is over. His soul is free at last from the pain and cancer that ravaged his body. Now there is a hole where he once stood – next to his wife of more than two decades and behind his sons who will feel the loss of his loving and guiding hand.
He was the greatest of the greatest. The quiet hero. The quintessential man for all seasons.
He was a man of faith who loved his family – loved doing things with them and for them. To his mother-in-law, he was the son she never had. For us, the cousins, he was simply one of the family – as if he’d been born and raised in it. From where we stood, he was no ordinary man, but that was the skin he was comfortable in.
We, too, feel the loss of this great man. Our grief cannot compare to the depth of his family’s – his wife, sons, mother, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.
He was a generous man, giving away smiles at every opportunity and his easy manner made people gravitate to him. I think that is where his greatness lies – in his faith, his friendships and the love for his family.
This is the greatest of legacies he has left for us.
Godspeed, Frank!
Photo by Matej Novosad from Pexels
WriteForLife2017 
Thank you.
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Sorry for your loss. What a beautiful tribute to a “great man.”
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Hi Mary Beth;
My deepest condolences on your loss. And your Dad would have been my hero as any MG enthusiast is my hero in the brotherhood of cars and motorcycle.
I am grateful for your making that kinship between people and make our lives meaningful. Take very good care of yourself and see you soon.
Jae Pak, old friend.
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Hi Jae,
Thank you for your condolences. My cousin’s husband was such a wonderful man. My dad would love to talk MGs and sports cars with you. He had a Honda motorcycle for a while when we were kids. I’ll be visiting hi tomorrow. He’s back in the hospital but we hope he can go back to the nursing home next week.
Most likely I will not be at the next writers’ group because of other commitments. I had my first Illinois State Poetry Society board meeting this afternoon. Long day!
See you soon,
mb
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Such a moving tribute, wow, what a man. I hope writing about him helps soothe the grief, and I am glad he is not in pain anymore
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Thank you. Today we buried my dad so it’s been an emotional month.
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I didn’t know MB…I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to you in mail
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I have some guilt with his death. I didn’t do anything to help my cousin when she probably needed it until it was too late and they didn’t want me planning a fundraiser, so I had to let that go.
We buried my dad today. That is my next post. I’ll also be posting his eulogy.
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