Tuesday, October 19, 2004
In Memorial: Homer Nebergall
My Dad passed away Columbus Day at 10:40 PM. I got in a few hours earlier. Most of us children and our spouses were with him when he died. My wife didn't get in for a few more hours, but tried hard. Mom had went home, and we gave her the news that night.
The visitation was Thursday, and it was overwhelming. I knew dad had touched a lot of lives, but it was very heartening and inspiring to see so many people with so much love that he'd inspired and helped over the years. We stood for four hours while the line just kept coming.
The funeral was Friday. My brother Blake was trying to pull strings with the Air National Guard to get an F-16 flyover. That fell through in part because the military wanted to control the whole service, and Mom didn't want that. They did send a flag, and the VA will provide the headstone in a few months. Blake did arrange for the flying club to do a three-Cessna flyover in formation at the start of the funeral. The weather cleared just long enough for it to happen, thank God. The sight was beautiful, especially when you knew how many years those men had been friends with my Dad and Blake and I. We've always loved flying. When the three engines purred overhead with that much power synchronized and echoing across the graveyard, it was like aviation was loving us back. From the God side of things, there was a large eagle or hawk flying around the farm when we returned. I love it when He does stuff like that.
I'm doing well. I'm crying some now and then. I took a long hike in my old farm woods Wednesday to get myself grounded. I get a little nuts if I don't visit the farm every so often, so visiting for a whole week and seeing so many faces I hadn't seen in years was very, very comforting. Mom's doing OK. My brother will take another week off so she won't be alone. My biggest issue at the moment is that certain things set me off. I saw a cartoon with a character flatlining and it was harsh, since I'd seen my dad flatline six days before. I washed one of my cats with a special cat bath towel like a Wet One since he can't bathe himself very well. The good news is he liked it. The bad news is he smelled like he'd been washed with a medicated cloth, which is how Dad smelled during his months in the hospital. I won't be washing the cat with those again soon.
I suppose Columbus Day was as good a day as any, as it seems the perfect time to set foot in a New World. As the song at Dr. Ed Thomson’s funeral said:
“[But think] of standing on ground, and finding it Heaven,
Of touching a hand, and finding it God’s,
Of walking on streets, and finding them celestial,
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it home.
Oh, that will be Glory for me.”
My Dad passed away Columbus Day at 10:40 PM. I got in a few hours earlier. Most of us children and our spouses were with him when he died. My wife didn't get in for a few more hours, but tried hard. Mom had went home, and we gave her the news that night.
The visitation was Thursday, and it was overwhelming. I knew dad had touched a lot of lives, but it was very heartening and inspiring to see so many people with so much love that he'd inspired and helped over the years. We stood for four hours while the line just kept coming.
The funeral was Friday. My brother Blake was trying to pull strings with the Air National Guard to get an F-16 flyover. That fell through in part because the military wanted to control the whole service, and Mom didn't want that. They did send a flag, and the VA will provide the headstone in a few months. Blake did arrange for the flying club to do a three-Cessna flyover in formation at the start of the funeral. The weather cleared just long enough for it to happen, thank God. The sight was beautiful, especially when you knew how many years those men had been friends with my Dad and Blake and I. We've always loved flying. When the three engines purred overhead with that much power synchronized and echoing across the graveyard, it was like aviation was loving us back. From the God side of things, there was a large eagle or hawk flying around the farm when we returned. I love it when He does stuff like that.
I'm doing well. I'm crying some now and then. I took a long hike in my old farm woods Wednesday to get myself grounded. I get a little nuts if I don't visit the farm every so often, so visiting for a whole week and seeing so many faces I hadn't seen in years was very, very comforting. Mom's doing OK. My brother will take another week off so she won't be alone. My biggest issue at the moment is that certain things set me off. I saw a cartoon with a character flatlining and it was harsh, since I'd seen my dad flatline six days before. I washed one of my cats with a special cat bath towel like a Wet One since he can't bathe himself very well. The good news is he liked it. The bad news is he smelled like he'd been washed with a medicated cloth, which is how Dad smelled during his months in the hospital. I won't be washing the cat with those again soon.
I suppose Columbus Day was as good a day as any, as it seems the perfect time to set foot in a New World. As the song at Dr. Ed Thomson’s funeral said:
“[But think] of standing on ground, and finding it Heaven,
Of touching a hand, and finding it God’s,
Of walking on streets, and finding them celestial,
Of waking up in Glory, and finding it home.
Oh, that will be Glory for me.”
