Re: Goodbye, (forwarded letter from crewbie)

[Guest guest]

Hi Steve,

Beautiful letter...I have something I want to share with the crew that I find

my self reading in times of great LOSS like this...It is very beautifully

said...

God saw he was getting tired

And a cure was not to be,

So He put his arms around him

And whisperd " Come with Me "

With tearful eyes we watched

him suffer

And saw him fade away,

Although we loved him dearly,

We could not make him stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,

Hard working hands at rest.

God broke our hearts to prove to us

He only takes the best.

[Guest guest]

what did I miss

[Guest guest]

what did I miss

[Guest guest]

what did I miss

[Guest guest]

Steve, that was beautiful. Thanks for sharing it with Crew. I know what you

wrote meant a lot to Gail. Let us keep lifting her up in prayer. God bless

you -- K.

Goodbye, (forwarded letter from crewbie)

>I got this and you will see that steve asked for it to be sent to the crew,

>not sure if it was since I was off the crew for about a week, anyway here

is

>his letter, its from STEVEWEEB@...

>______________________________________

>Dear Friends in the NF2 world,

>

>One of the few joys of NF2 is knowing one another. One of the sad

companions

>to that is bidding adieu when one of our beloved midst is promoted from

this

>world. Today I went to Orange County to take part in such a good-bye for

> Petito. It was a pleasure to see a handful of you join me there with

>the others in this world who found to be someone special. would

>have been pleased at the half dozen plus speakers, who, to a one, found it

>impossible to speak of without recalling a moment that made them, and

>more than once, us, laugh at this very special man's memory.

>

>I will hold out making my donation in 's name until there is a channel

>for it to go to the NF2 Review. Do let me know when you become aware of

one.

>

>I'd like to share with you the letter I gave Gail today and one I hope will

>make its way into the book of memories about . (I'd like to get a copy

>of that when it's made, if possible.) Gail, this has been very slightly

>edited from the one I handed you. Will one of you kindly pass this on to

the

>Crew since I am not on its mailing list right now?

>

>A couple of words of explanation: LOVED coffee, thus the token I

passed

>along to Gail, his wife. And " Piece o' cake " was 's trademark reply

when

>visited in post-surgery and asked how it went. That expression will never

be

>the same to me, again.

>

>To your health,

>Hugs,

>Steve

>---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---

>-------------------------------------------

>May 7, 2000

>

>Dear ,

>

>You left us all a week or so ago, but I wanted to say good-bye. I wasn't a

>member of your inner circle, but apparently one of many, many, many people

>who considered you a friend and held you dear.

>

>I saw you a couple of weeks ago in ICU in Orange County, coming in to visit

>while Gail held , my hearing dog, in the hallway. I can't help but

>think of our closing. I am glad to have told you I love you, because, in

>spite of society's rules about men saying such a thing to one another, I

knew

>I could tell you and you'd know what I meant. As I turned to go, a nurse

>came in. Again, knowing your delightful sense of humor, I turned to her

and

>signed so you could understand, while asking with my voice, " Has he been

>behaving himself? " Of course, the nurse said you had, but it made a

>wonderful exit when you laughed at my comment to you, " I'm SO disappointed

>in you! "

>

>Among our relatively few social occasions was seeing Titanic with Rear

Window

>captioning not far from where I live, but a 45-minute ride for you and

Gail.

>I posted my excitement about having used Rear Window to the Crew, and was

>complimented beyond measure when you asked to use my words in your beloved

>Review.

>

>, Ralph Waldo Emerson defined success as:

> " To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons

and

>the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and to

>endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the

best

>in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether

by

>a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have

played

>and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know that even one

>life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have

succeeded. "

>

>

>By those measures, you succeeded fabulously. Surely mine is one of a

>multitude of lives you helped breathe easier. You surely earned the

respect

>of intelligent people - heck - you earned the respect of anyone I know who

>knows you. That means that finding honest critics is probably impossible.

>The world of NF2 is surely a better place for your having been at our

>forefront. Your enthusiastic laughter and play will remain an inspiration

to

>each of us. In your own way, your spirit definitely showed your singing

with

>exultation. Ah, that everyone in the world could depart is as such a great

>success.

>

>I thought of you and the old maxim about the playing the cards one is

dealt.

>I do believe you were playing seven-card stud. Your 'up cards' showed a

pair

>of deuces, an ace, and junk. That's what the ignorant world no doubt saw

at

>first glance. But they didn't know that two of your hole (hidden) cards

were

>aces. That gives you a full house, aces up, in any game a stupendous hand.

>But the other thing the world didn't know is that you weren't even playing

>the same game as they were. While they might have admired your hand in

their

>straight poker game, we who knew and loved you realized that you were

playing

>deuces wild, so your hand was really an unbeatable five aces. One of those

>aces was Gail, for sure. The Review another. The many of us whom you

>influenced another one still. But the wild cards, the spirit that brought

>the aces to their summit, were your own inner strength, inner self, inner

>glow, inner 'piece o' cake' spirit. To be one who sat in the glow of your

>hand was a privilege.

>

>To help your passage, I will make sure that Gail has a pot's worth of

coffee

>to spread with your ashes. Use them and know we will hoist a cup in your

>name.

>

>It's tough to say good-bye, my friend. Let me just say, then, that I'll

see

>you later. And be ready! I will hug you like always, but while you hold

>that cup of Java in your left hand, I'll be asking if you've been behaving

up

>there. All you'll have to do is grin - both sides of your mouth and all -

>and I'll laugh and know.

>I love you, buddy,

>Steve

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

To Broudabada2,

Are you new to the Crew? Cuz, if you're not new to the Crew, then you've

been hiding under a rock and you've got alot of catching up to do. Are you

on digest? That's probably a good place to catch up!

[Guest guest]

OK no i am not tell me how to get there