Goodbye, Paul....

Said goodbye to one of my good friends last week.  Paul White had been my co-worker for about 12 or 13 years, and died much too early of liver cancer.  Paul was always smiling, always upbeat and happy.  He and I shared a wealth of conversations about Oklahoma and Native American history - we were both huge history buffs.

Paul had a ton of talents - he was our resident office decorator and paint-color-chooser.  He laughed a lot and drove way too slowly, which made him the butt of a lot of office jokes.  He also couldn't walk on ice or snow and had at least one broken bone to prove it.  Paul loved to eat and was always one of the first in line at our office lunches. He took a lot of heat for that, too, from the jokesters, and Paul loved all the attention and would just smile and smile.   Paul always reminded me that he was our office's Kickapoo-Seminole Indian, and we only had one.  Now we have none.

A few months ago, Paul gave me an antique Oklahoma home made quilt.  It was beautiful and full of that Oklahoma history that we love so much.  It was perfect.  Paul was a giver, never a taker.

Paul's funeral was a wonderful Native American ceremony, full of tradition and history, just as he would have wanted.  Although I may not have understood the beautiful chanted laments, I definitely felt the emotion.

The world is a much lonelier and less happy place today.  Goodbye, Paul - I'm sure you're up in Heaven right now, driving your little car really, really slow....