tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post1608965539129256473..comments2024-03-27T22:53:00.759+01:00Comments on A Hippo On the Lawn: Santana CemeteryHippohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09468795398813061897noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-73483506575646536782013-07-04T07:23:26.475+01:002013-07-04T07:23:26.475+01:00You have a big heart....and Marcia and Alex will n...You have a big heart....and Marcia and Alex will need you even more now...take care of yourself.libbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05552884005601003691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-69310214863089890552013-07-04T01:24:18.550+01:002013-07-04T01:24:18.550+01:00When my brother died, the mother of his daughter t...When my brother died, the mother of his daughter told her the same kind of thing. So he was called Daddy Star. When we came back to Australia, my daughter started saying that she had an uncle star. So Betula, we may be on to the rebirth of a old style religion. But seriously, it may have seemed like a cop out but I think it is a good way to discuss it with younger children. Heck my 90 year grandmother believes that's what happens and when a baby is born one of the stars come down. Ok, she wants to believe that. - Tom, nothing I can add for you except that you are your family are in my thoughtsNigel Peacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18316662790230511444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-89395548792179327962013-07-03T22:03:17.835+01:002013-07-03T22:03:17.835+01:003 months ago I lost my wife and our 4 year old dau...3 months ago I lost my wife and our 4 year old daughter lost her mother. Not being of any religious bent but looking for a way to explain where she has gone, I settled on telling her that she was now a star in the sky. A terrible cop-out,I know, but it has given her something to look upon and talk to. Whenever she needs to send a special message to her mum we tie a message to a big firework and blast it off into the sky. It helps her to feel she has made a connection. Don't know if such things are available where you are, but might help Alex to do something similar? Betulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11634247761492114698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-67640011955409136282013-07-02T08:59:14.802+01:002013-07-02T08:59:14.802+01:00Through the web of tragedy comes a glimmer of come...Through the web of tragedy comes a glimmer of comedy. I'm not sure, however, which is which! The Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18345021580985320660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-71292581752202939542013-07-01T11:08:06.193+01:002013-07-01T11:08:06.193+01:00If this had been fiction I might well have said - ...If this had been fiction I might well have said - a wonderful and earthy evocation of an African funeral scene - but of course it was real life so I will just say that you brought it all so vividly to life for your readers. Soon, hopefully, your lives will get back to normal and Marcia will return to monitor and moderate your oft-times unruly conduct - "dancing gaily" once more.Yorkshire Puddinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06019673884543913089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-51768553144753616282013-07-01T07:04:14.285+01:002013-07-01T07:04:14.285+01:00It does not surprise me that you can write so eloq...It does not surprise me that you can write so eloquently about a funeral, evoking in your readers the slightest feeling that they were there as well. Alex's request to call his Granny too must have been heart-wrenching. I hope that as with all of us, the elapse of time will provide the healing we all need from these life-teaching experiences.columnisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03764365428633038329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-64537629211123593332013-06-30T21:22:24.767+01:002013-06-30T21:22:24.767+01:00I was wondering how the funeral went and how all o...I was wondering how the funeral went and how all of you were coping. It's so terribly difficult to see people we love grieve and know there's precious little we can do but hug them and let them cry.megan blogshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04555646904983619596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-8815791172860548442013-06-30T21:06:25.136+01:002013-06-30T21:06:25.136+01:00We all know how well you will look after Alex, and...We all know how well you will look after Alex, and Marcia when she returns home. <br />Heartfelt words already written by others above. Suffice to say, our thoughts are with you all. Retired job.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14349739454297792385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-24862366453950286152013-06-30T16:03:46.316+01:002013-06-30T16:03:46.316+01:00Rotten things from start to finish, funerals.
Onl...Rotten things from start to finish, funerals.<br /><br />Only movement in one dimension ever gets you away from them; time.The Owl Woodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11484484539144369129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-41545097790334449832013-06-30T07:28:56.454+01:002013-06-30T07:28:56.454+01:00Sometime i forget just how great a story teller yo...Sometime i forget just how great a story teller you are, sorry that it was M's mums death that inspired you to write it, but that was a great piece of story telling.<br /><br />SBW<br /><br />The Suburban Bushwackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09372690405902840131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-4082103425966909712013-06-30T05:47:28.631+01:002013-06-30T05:47:28.631+01:00Every country has its own funereal customs, but sm...Every country has its own funereal customs, but smashing the coffin so that it's not pilfered (for a second using) is a new one to me. A very moving account.<br /><br />I think Joanne's idea of getting Alex to write a letter to his grandmother is a good one. He can let go of all his emotions on paper, probably easier than he can in other ways. Death is a difficult concept for the young.<br /><br />Chin-up my friend... these things take a long time.<br /> Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-7630243341263921272013-06-30T03:05:52.780+01:002013-06-30T03:05:52.780+01:00Hippo, you and your family have been on my mind si...Hippo, you and your family have been on my mind since your last post. The first funeral I attended was my father's at 14 and I can still feel that physical pain of being told he had died by the police because I was away from my family at the time. I had to live with that grief on my own for four days until I could travel home to my family and his funeral. Losing my father changed my life in so many ways which only my family can understand. Family is absolutely everything in helping us to make sense of things. And when my son lost his father at two, I knew straight away that my purpose in life was to shepherd his journey to adult life without a father because at least I had had the privilege of having mine for those 14 years. Everything your family needs is already within you. Everything that has happened in life has brought you to this point and you will know what to do. To be able to write about these things and share it with a bunch of strangers like myself takes courage. I trust that this gives you the strength you need for Alex and Marcia. Take care.Carolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05592150238891296272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-89824070122397471852013-06-29T22:38:04.283+01:002013-06-29T22:38:04.283+01:00The funeral was on Thursday. It took me three day...The funeral was on Thursday. It took me three days to write this. I just can't bear to see Marcia and little Alex so upset. When it came time for me to leave the wake, Alex begged to go with me. On the way back we stopped off at the market and I bought him some snazzy Spiderman beach shorts and a football. Two days later he is sleeping on the sofá with all the pillows off the bed clad in his shorts and hugging his football. I have lifted him back on to the bed which I have made up and he is sleeping quietly but I reckon he will only really relax once Marcia is back. Last night, for the first time in over a year, he swamped the mattress so I guesss he is taking it hard.<br /><br />I woke up last night and discovered him sitting bolt upright in bed stark naked. What's up son? I asked him. My shorts are wet Daddy, he replied. No sweat Son, I said, slide over my side, we'll swap places.<br /><br />Shit, I have slept in waterlogged trenches, I can spend a night lying in my son's piss if it's going to calm him down.Hippohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09468795398813061897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-16168556970087189062013-06-29T22:36:42.100+01:002013-06-29T22:36:42.100+01:00I hung on to the end and found my eyes wet for all...I hung on to the end and found my eyes wet for all of you. Poor Alex, he will have to write letters to his Granny.Joanne Noragonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09834682329952369721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8512022050229968490.post-62300839248518215622013-06-29T21:57:11.235+01:002013-06-29T21:57:11.235+01:00A beautiful and painful piece of writing Tom
We ha...A beautiful and painful piece of writing Tom<br />We have all been there...... Perhaps not as colourfully as your experience but that's the British For you<br />Take care old chumJohn Going Gentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14958171262765033946noreply@blogger.com