Certain moments in your life are crystal clear, like they occurred just ten minutes ago….Impatiently sitting inthe front seat of that blue Toyota Corolla as we motored for a second time to the US Bank in downtown Albany, I remember feeling confused. He had opened the envelope the banks used to put a cash withdrawal into and found an extra $100 dollar bill. We were constantly struggling to pay the bills, so seemed to me that luck was on our side. Only after the teller wept a bit and thanked him profusely as he handed her that Ben Franklin did I understand…It was the right thing to do.
As I sit here picking at the truck load of memories that constitute a person that meant so much to me and my life, I’m continually struck with that same theme, over and over again…It was the right thing to do. To a whiny, snot-nosed 4-year-old kid who had moved across Oregon tied to the hip of a mother trying desperately to make a better life, he came along with a ball, a glove and a heart full of unconditional love at just the right time. From day one, we were bonded. My mom would always say he loved her, but the real reason they got into a relationship that eventually became a marriage was that he LOVED me. It wasn’t easy, it certainly wasn’t always fun, he gave up his life as it was constituted not because he had do, but because it was the right thing to do.
That’s who Gregg Nelson was, a man who worked day and night in a thankless job, a man who gave until there was only lint in the wallet and no gas left in the tank. He took great pride in me and always taught as much with his actions as he did with his words. Even at the end, battered by life after succumbing to the demons of the bottle, living on disability and a small check from the Feds for his time in the Navy he still clung to that same wonderful habit. I picked him up from the rehab facility where he was living and as he hobbled into the store to grab a few essentials, he rummaged into his pocket, pulled out 2 singles, and handed them to the gnarled old hobo with the cardboard sign. Not because he had it to give, truth be told he was in way worse shape than the hobo, but even to the very end….It was the right thing to do.
Writing an obituary for your parent is a tough exercise, it will appear in the Albany Democrat Herald later this week. If you want to read it, here’s the linkhttp://bit.ly/1hBT6Nd If he’s still around, hug your dad tight this weekend and tell him you love him. If he’s not, show a little love by taking a minute to remember the good times.
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