Remembering Dad...

Orville 'Rip' Ripley

My Dad passed away in October. He was 91. Almost 92. He lived a long and wonderful life. He was a great son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, pastor and friend. I thought that losing someone who had lived such a long life, would make it easier to accept him being gone. But it doesn't. In some way, I think it makes it harder because he has always been here. And now he is not. A lot of people try to comfort us by saying he has gone on to a better place. But quite honestly, I'd really rather have him still be here. I know that is selfish. In the end, my Dad was tired. He had been struggling with many ailments and it was taking its toll on him. When he passed, it would be a peaceful, quiet moment, in the middle of the night, cradled in my younger sisters arms. I was on my way, traveling from Tampa to Jasper, in north Georgia. I received the call that he died about a half hour from the hospital. I missed seeing him by about an hour, but he had been unresponsive for a while. I know my Dad loved me, and he knew I loved him, so not getting there in time isn't something that bothers me much. A little. But not much. What bothers me - is just that he is no longer here. No longer here to give advice or offer help. No longer here to laugh and watch Westerns with. No longer here - to be my Dad. And even though I am grateful that he is no longer in pain or struggling to breathe... I am so sad that he is gone. I feel this black hole in my heart, and I don't think it will ever go away. I miss him, and it's hard to imagine living the rest of my life without him. He was such an amazing person, and I am the person I am, in large part, because of his influence. I am so fortunate, to have had a father such as him, and I pray that I can be half the parent he was, to my boys. And every day that goes by, I will remember him, and something that he taught me, and I will try to live a life that he would be proud of, and I will try living by the morals and values that he instilled in me. Good-Bye to my dear, Dad: "I love you so much, and miss you more than I ever thought possible. Life - without you - is just not as full of joy, as it once was. Be at peace."