He Talks Funny

The title of this post is borrowed from a good family friend. He's actually more than a friend. I realized this weekend that to me, he is my 3rd brother (as if I needed another one!). His name is Jeff and he's from Texas -- that's why he talks funny.

This weekend Jeff and his wife, Carolyn, came to Montana for the 2nd annual Labor Day barbeque and that is why he's on my mind today. He brought with him a copy of a speech he did in his Toastmasters club about my dad. In that speech he referred to how my dad would frequently introduce him, "I want you to meet my good friend Jeffrey, he's from Texas, he talks funny." I wept profusely as I read his speech and almost have it memorized myself.

Jeff started coming to Montana when he was 25 (I was 17) as a programming consultant at the company where dad worked. As was customary with my parents, they took him under their wing, opened our (their) home to him, fed him every night he was in town, and he assimilated into our family as if he'd always been there. He was in Montana about a week a month for 18 years and became one of my dad's closest friends and confidantes. As you might imagine he also celebrated birthdays, weddings, births, and many other events with us. Additionally, he mourned with us during times of suffering, death, and sickness. And along with my brothers, husband, and brother-in-law, he was a pallbearer at dad's funeral. He is family.

The thing that struck me most about Jeff's speech was how he talked about my dad and the emotion he put into his words. I know how I feel about dad, but to hear it from someone who became part of our family later touched me beyond words. It is evidence that my dad was always constant, that he loved his family, he loved God, and he genuinely cared about other people. I knew all this about my dad but the confirmation from someone else is extremely gratifying.

Jeff loved my dad and he's been a source of great support for my mom in the last year and a half. The fact that he and Carolyn have spent their time and money to spend the past 2 Labor Day weekends with his Montana Family is proof in action. He ended his speech by commenting:

I look forward to my first day in Heaven, to bow before my Lord and Savior...to walk the streets of gold and come upon a group of people I don't know and hear, "I want you to meet my good friend Jeffrey, he's from Texas, he talks funny!"

We might not get to see him much but we love Jeff, we love what he's brought to our family, and we are grateful for the friendship he brought to dad's life.

Thanks Jeff (and Carolyn) -- we love and appreciate you, even if you are from Texas and you talk funny!