Well, Howard:" A Remembrance by Carole Hull

Well Howard…

Has it been a good life?

I see you sharp and trim on Grace Avenue, getting ready to go golfing.

I see you in the kitchen coming off a shift of your answering service, half-listening to Rita and me as we made last minute plants for a Diocesan ed. meeting.

I see you with a twinkle in your eye listening to one of Bob’s jokes and gearing up to tell one of your own.

I see you and Rita and the wedding anniversary party that Dan and Joe so lovingly put on for you.

I see you watching for sparks to fly when Dan, Joe and I got into one of our discussions about religion.

I see you at Sacred Heart Church in Chazy serving as Joshua’s godfather for his baptism.
Most of all, for me, I see you steady, clear, common-sensed, down-to-earth. You were a rudder for our family, an oasis of stability for me as a young woman riding some emotional roller coaster.

Remember at my wedding how the ceremony shifted from sober to comical when you inadvertently poked me in the eye during the Kiss of Peace and I lost my contact lens? We found it and the marriage ceremony continued? Always bringing me back to reality for my own good. Right, Howard?

Fourteen months ago when we were here for Bill Hartnett’s funeral, Bob and I came to see you. I will never forget your insistence. You waited for us in your weakened condition and made Rita put on Dan and Steve’s video tape of Joe and Carolyn’s wedding. I watched you, tears running down your face, and smiling at the same time. “Isn’t she lovely?” you would repeat, referring to your daughter-in-law. “They may come in March,” you said. I knew then that you would not leave us until you had net Carolyn in person. “Dan did a wonderful job, didn’t he?” referring to the tape. “I watch it over and over.” Your affection for your whole family was so evident.

Bob and I love you and thank you.

This morning I found a quote from Emily Dickenson which captures your life for me, Howard. She wrote, “Instead of going to Heaven at last, I am going all along.”

Carol December 29, 1994