We all stand and sit in varying postures of disquiet, some on high stools around tables, others on low cushioned chairs, some up at the bar overlooking the country club greens, and one or two even order drinks.<\/p>\n
Am I the only broken person who has come to Tom\u2019s memorial? <\/em>No. I look around. We must be many frazzled people, mostly related, to have traveled to this remote place to stand here and express so little loss. We are upbeat. We laugh at the jokes and funny stories that Tom requested. This is what he wanted, what he told Ruthie.<\/p>\n Dan used to talk about how no one cried when his little sister Vicky died of a mild case of measles back before we had vaccinations. Vicky was eight. Dan was a teenager and he was scolded for crying at Vicky\u2019s funeral where virtually the whole town turned out for this beloved little girl\u2014neighbors and friends and teachers and aunts and uncles and cousins, and strangers even, all heartbroken and stoic\u2014and not one tear for their great loss, except Dan\u2019s.<\/p>\n Above all, don\u2019t disrespect Ruthie, <\/em>I say to myself Saturday, holding back my feelings, following her plan. I’m sincere, but I don\u2019t tell a joke, I haven\u2019t the heart for it. Sorry, Tom. <\/em>I hug Ruthie. I attempt peace with some sibs, coming from my disheveled place, feeling raw, not exactly sorting reality from unreality and wondering if they can.<\/p>\n Dan had told me: \u201cAll those Germans in my family stood around dry eyed and strong jawed and told me to pull myself together, to stop being a sissy. I knew they loved Vicky, they delighted in her! But showing feelings was verboten, <\/em>and I was not like them.\u201d<\/p>\n It turns out Tom fought in Korea.<\/p>\n \u201cNo! You were a baby!\u201d I tell Tom when I learn he was in Korea. \u201cDan had to lie about his age to get the army to let him go to Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo did I,\u201d says Tom.<\/p>\n Sort the bodies, no crying allowed.<\/p>\n I feel an escalating anger as the weekend progresses. Tom was here and now he is gone\u2026They are all gone. Tom. Vicky. Her parents: Emma and Skip. Dan.<\/p>\n It flashes through my awareness: the teenage boy sobbing at the loss of his little sister; the eleven year-old boy crying disconsolately for Dan after the twenty-one-gun salute, after the flag is folded and presented to me, when his body is lowered into the ground at Golden Gate Cemetery.<\/p>\n Thank you, Arthur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all stand and sit in varying postures of disquiet, some on high stools around tables, others on low cushioned chairs, some up at the bar overlooking the country club greens, and one or two even order drinks. Am I …<\/p>\n