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Saturday 12 March 2011

A sad day all round

Just after I wrote my blog entry this morning about my ‘new’ aircraft carrier model, my wife received a telephone call from her father. His partner – a lady that he has shared a house with on and off for the last fifteen years – died yesterday at her son’s home after a long battle against a variety of different illnesses, including breast cancer.

As my father-in-law no longer has a car, we drove down to Herne Bay, Kent, to see him and to make sure that he was coping alright. We also wanted to give him any support or help that we could. We offered to drive him over to see his partner’s son, but they had already spoken on the telephone before we arrived, and had decided that it was probably not yet the right time for him to visit. We spent several hours with my father-in-law, did his shopping, sorted out his bank account, and generally helped keep his mind occupied. He is a tough old bird, and despite being ninety five years of age, he is still very mentally alert … even if he is a bit deaf. When we left, we told him to get in contact if he needed anything before next weekend, which is when we plan to visit him again.

In the great scheme of things, one person’s death may not seem very important except to those who knew them, especially at a time when so many people are dead or dying in Libya for their political beliefs or are dead in Japan as a result of a natural disaster. Stalin is reputed to have said ‘A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic' ... but he seemed to have forgotten that each of those deaths was an individual tragedy to the dead person’s family and friends. As the death toll rises in Libya and Japan, there are many people there who do not know what has happened to their loved ones, and my thoughts and prayers are with them. I hope that yours are as well.

12 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear of your sad loss , our thoughts are with you

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  2. Sorry for your loss, and I couldn't agree more about the dreadfull events in Japan.

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  3. Bob
    Sorry to hear your news. I've never met your father but please pass on my condolences.

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  4. Sorry to hear of your family's loss. Glad your father-in-law has the support he needs at this time.

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  5. Mosstrooper, Ray Rousell, and Tim Gow,

    Many thanks for your thoughts and your support.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  6. Bob
    I am so sorry to read your sad news, especially following the post earlier today on your latest modelling acquisition. Our thoughts are with you and your family at this time.

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  7. Sad news Bob, Its good to have the support of your family at a time of loss.

    -Ross

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  8. Jfidz, Sidney Roundwood, Ross Mac, and Tradgardmastare,

    Thanks for all your kind words and support. We seem to be having an annus horribilis ... and it is still only March!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  9. Hi Bob,

    So sorry to hear of your loss - and as ever, our thoughts are with you and your family.0

    All the best,

    DC

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  10. Even though I did not know your father-in-law's partner I was sad to learn of her death; she must have been a kind person to make your father-in-law so happy.
    The events in Libya and Japan are equally saddening.

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  11. David Crook and Paul,

    Many thanks for your kind words and thoughts. They are appreciated.

    All the best,

    Bob

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