July 8: Charlotte Died, Family Friend, Prayer for Joe

She never moved again.  Next day, as the Ferris wheel was being taken apart and the race horses were being loaded into vans and the entertainers were packing up their belongings and driving away in their trailers, Charlotte died...

This paragraph used to make me sob like a girl.  Oh, who am I kidding?  This paragraph still makes me sob like a school girl.  I hated the fact that E. B. White killed off Charlotte.  I didn't understand why she had to die.  Of course, White was just following the rules of nature.  Spiders have very short life cycles.  That fact doesn't make Charlotte's demise any easier to handle.


I found out this morning that a family friend passed away last night.  Joe had been very ill for a very long time, so this news was no surprise.  But, like Charlotte's passing, Joe's death is still incredibly sad.  He leaves behind a very ill wife and two grown children.

Joe loved my kids, loved to get hugs from my five-year-old son.  I grew up with Joe's kids.  We played together.  When my dad was incapacitated because of a surgery a couple years ago, Joe would snowblow my parents' driveway.  He snowblowed several neighbors' driveways during the winter.  He was, simply, a great guy.

My prayer intention this week is for Joe's family.  Remember them in your thoughts.  Pray for his wife, that she finds strength and solace.  Pray for his kids, that they know peace and comfort in the days to come.

Saint Marty will miss this kind, gentle man.

Goodbye, Joe