{"id":4209,"date":"2012-09-02T21:50:34","date_gmt":"2012-09-03T04:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=4209"},"modified":"2012-09-03T07:20:22","modified_gmt":"2012-09-03T14:20:22","slug":"the-day-of-ones-death-a-high-climax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/09\/02\/the-day-of-ones-death-a-high-climax\/","title":{"rendered":"The Day of One’s Death a High Climax"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"Dave Williams, aka Son of Adam<\/em>. Click for larger view.<\/a><\/h6>\n

The day of one’s death is better than the day of birth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s a jaring sentence that flies in the face of everything we normally think. The surrounding context elaborates: A good name is better than fine perfume . . . It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a day of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.*<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider it: On the the day of our birth we’re nothing but a ball of potential. Helpless, crying, wetting and worse. We’re a miracle to be sure, but only a bud of the flower. It’s the years to come that will build something unique, a story worth the telling. And we tell it at funerals.<\/p>\n

I saw this again this weekend as I attended the memorial of a friend. Dave Williams worked with plants and soil and concrete and stone. He helped me with many a landscaping and hardscaping project . . . often on weekends or at the end of the day after other jobs. Quitting time was not a concept with him. His hands were gnarly, his back strong, and his shirt grimy. As often as not he’d work for free, just helping me out.<\/p>\n

In appreciation some years ago I made a painting of him. I called it \u201cSon of Adam,\u201d after our first relative, also a landscaper. In the painting Dave stands in unassuming dignity, holding the basic tool of his trade, a shovel (more than Adam had).<\/p>\n

Dave was a basic man. But, as with anybody, there’s always more to know.<\/p>\n

We learned more at the memorial service where friends and family related aspects of the fuller story\u2014of his early life, his military service, his college education, his prowess as a wrestler, his black belt in judo earned in Japan, his interest in sports (and names of all current players), his love of history, his ever building vocabulary and his family championing in the game show, Jeopardy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A son of Adam indeed: strong of body, of good mind, unafraid of work, generous in spirit, and walking humbly before God.<\/p>\n

It’s ironic, but we learned all this more fully because he died.<\/p>\n

None of it existed on the day of his birth.<\/p>\n

Moreover, all of us were the better ourselves for hearing it.<\/p>\n

By odd coincidence, the memorial happened on my birthday. People who knew wished me a happy day. But the real meaning of the day, that which did me the most good, was the celebration of another life . . . the picture of its breadth and depth, aspects of which were acted out in many little circles, each unbeknownst to the other. But all known to God.<\/p>\n

A birth is only a life begun. The true graduation is yet to come. When it does, we can hope it helps others, as this son of Adam just did for us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

______________________<\/p>\n

*Ecclesiastes 7:1-2<\/p>\n

Because you’ll wonder, Dave died on the job, in a moment, caused by an unforgiving encounter with an electrical box.<\/p>\n

Next: Symbolic Speech for an Ultimate Matter.<\/em> Coming Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s one we don’t often think about, or think about this way, but should, since we’re all heading there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4209"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4209"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4209\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4251,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4209\/revisions\/4251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}