A Walk Along the Lake Shore

R.I.P. Andy...

Waves lapped on the sandy shore, a warm breeze caressing the skin of the man sitting along side it, his feet touched by the very tip of each wave. A sea bird screeched, its wings flapping keeping it aloft. A fish leaped out of the water, reaching for an insect.

He stared at his hands, the tendons moving under his skin as he waggled his fingers. He looked up at the bird, watching it glide on the air, when he spotted another person, walking towards him. He craned his neck, and could see footprints stretching back to the horizon. The approaching figure worn a white robe and hood drawn over his face.

He held up his hand, and the figure responded by doing the same. The stranger came to a log laying behind him and sat down. “Great place you picked out here.”

He thought about it for a moment. “Sure is. You know for the life of me, I want to say that I know it, but I can’t place it. You wouldn’t happen to know what it’s called.”

The stranger chuckled. “Nah, but I always did like the sea, especially ones that I have walked across.”

He peered at the horizon. “I don’t think its a sea. I can see the far shore,” he pointed out there, a distant line with some bumps on it, “I have bigger lakes back home, but this one is pretty peaceful.”

The stranger held his hand up to his eyebrows, “How about that, you are right. On both accounts.”

The stranger had a neatly trimmed beard, long brown hair, and kind blue eyes. “You know, we haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Andy, Andy Amoretto.”

The stranger smiled. “Nice to meet you Andy, around these parts people call me Immanuel.”

“Can’t get them to stop?” Andy chuckled to himself.

“Never tried. You’ve always been funny,” Immanuel’s smile widened.

“Sure, that’s me. My friends call me Tubish.”

“Well, I know we are friends.”

Tubish knew that was true. He didn’t know how he knew that, but it was so. “Ever do a bit of fishing?”

Immanuel laughed out loud, “Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Got some fish stories then?”

Immanuel leaned a bit over. “And then some.”

“Well, I probably got a few minutes before I better see what Patricia is up to.”

Immanuel pushed back his hood, and beamed. “I guess I could share one. I went out with three of my buddies, Peter, James, and John. Haven’t caught anything all day.”

“Ah, I feel that this going to be one of those infamous Northern stories. I’ve quested after those beautiful fish many a time.”

“Not quite. So after getting frustrated, I tell them, try casting on the other side of the boat. Of course there is some grumbling, but they do it. And what do you know, their nets were bulging.”

Tubish blew out his breath. “That's impressive. Well, I think I probably need to find Patricia.” He stood, but doubt crept in. He didn’t know which direction she was in. “Have you seen my wife? I can’t seem to remember where she is.”

Immanuel sat up straight, and the beaming smile lessened. “I have, but you can’t go back to her.”

“What? Why not? She has got to be somewhere on this beach. Where is she?”

Immanuel looked directly at him, in to his eyes. “You know why not.”

Tubish’s legs gave out, and he plopped into the wet sand. “I do. I don’t know how I do, but I do. What is this place?”

Immanuel got up, and sat next to him. “It’s a waiting area. Good people like you come here before meeting Him, to purify yourself.”

Tubish sank into the sand a little, “Does it look like this for everyone?”

Immanuel shook his head no. “Peace means different things to different people.”

“What happened to Patricia?”

“Nothing. She is back there, continuing to live her life. Mother to two wonderful boys, grandmother to beautiful Jewel, Aunt to many and friend to many more. She misses you, but a part of her can rest now that you are here.”

Tubish nodded. “I wish to could let her know how much she meant to me in those last years.”

Immanuel smiled. “She knows. You didn’t need to express that with words. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have had the strength to be there for you. You and her had a wonderful marriage. You both should be proud.”

“I am proud. I hope my sons saw that too.”

“They did. Bart and Tim both. You raised those boys right, and while sometimes they falter, like all children do, they both look to you to be the example in their own lives.”

Tubish laid down face up in the sand. “Thank you for saying that,” the sky was overcast, but it didn’t look like rain, “You a Gophers fan?”

Immanuel laughed, “If you have to press me on it, I’m a bit partial to Notre Dame. That Gipper always gets me. But I root for everyone.”

“Even the refs?”

“Yes, even the refs,” chortled Immanuel, “everybody. It wouldn’t be a game without them.”

“I guess not. Got to take the good with the bad.”

“Its part of life.”

Tubish sat up. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“Why did I have to go? I wasn’t that old.”

The smile vanished from Immanuel’s face. “Age really doesn’t have to do with it. Was there something that you wanted to do?”

“Watch Jewel grow up.”

A tear crystallized in Immanuel’s eye. “You still can. Not here, but after meeting Him. Passing on isn’t a punishment Tubish. I know you don’t think that, but you might feel it. And that is okay.”

“Sometimes I wondering why this was happening to me. I had a pretty horrible disease. For the longest time, I didn’t feel like myself. Even towards the end, it got harder and harder to be me. I couldn’t get up and joke with my brother Eenis. I couldn’t wrap my arms around my son Tim, not that I could do that for a while, he got so huge. I couldn’t give Patricia the old up and down,” Tubish blushed, the last part kind of slipped out.

Immanuel gracefully patted his shoulder. “And you think that those things were stolen from you?”

“No, but yeah.”

“I am not going to tell you His plan, that is for Him to do. At some point in human life, you must die. It is inevitable. At some point those things we enjoy and love about that life, we can’t do that anymore. Happens to everyone. Even happened to me,” Immanuel rolled his shoulders, “but take heart, paradise lies in front of you because I am with you. I am your rod and your staff, and I will comfort you.”

“You are definitely comforting. I’m not scared, but there is a part that is still sad,” Tubish lowered his head.

“You are sad because you miss them. Your family.”

“Yes. It would be something to let them know I am alright.”

“It would. But they know that. Tubish, you lived a full life of quality. Remember that day you and Patricia biked around Like Rodgers?”

He did. What a day that was. It was the first time they attempted that trek, and it would be the last. On the far side of the lake, they heard the sounds of someone thrashing around in the lake. It turned out that Carmen Logar, who also was biking along the lake with her four children, had fallen off the bridge. The children were bawling as two men pulled her from the water, performing CPR. “I do remember. Why do you bring that one up? I wasn’t the one who saved her life.”

Immanuel’s smile returned. “True, We all know you would have had you been there a bit earlier. What did you do though?”

Tubish thought, and then smiled. “I told her kids jokes.”

“You told them jokes. Those children were terrified that they were going to lose their mother, and you made them pull your finger and giggle at your faces.”

“So?”

“You, in your unique way, showed those children compassion. You distracted them from fear. You brought a smiles to their faces.”

“That’s true.”

“Carmen and her family came to your celebration. They all told of a kind and generous man who kept them calm, kept their spirits up. Instead of a day that scarred those kids, it was a day of joy. Their mother’s life was saved,” Immanuel’s eyes sparkled, tears welling up in them, “it isn’t the flashiest of moments, nor one that most people would remember. But it was important. You showed kindness. You could have ridden on, and gone on about your life. But you didn’t.”

“I was never going to do that. Somebody needed to comfort those kids,” Tubish grinned, “It could have been anybody, but I was the one that was there,” he got misty, “That was our last time around that lake.” They planned to try again every year, but three months later the first signs of the disease showed up and long bike rides were a thing of his past.

“It was.”

“Do you know what my favorite day was?”

“Tell me.”

Tubish stood, as did Immanuel. They began to walk along the shore. “You might think it was my wedding night. And that is top five. Along with the birth of my boys, and Jewel. All good days.”

“Of course, those days are amazing.”

“But my best day, now that I think of it, was a day at Lake Red. My father was there, as were my brothers, my sister, their spouses and their kids. My kids and theirs swam in the lake, jumping off the platform in the middle. Dimm drank his O’Malley’s while Eenis grilled. We all told stories of days growing up in Lamler, the shenanigans we all got into. The kids would stop and be captivated, listening to the yarns.”

Immanuel listened intently. “That is a good day.”

“Yes. Everything was perfect. The sun, the setting, the stories. When I laid down that night, I can remember wanting to bottle that day. I was so glad that we got together so many times, but that one was the best.”

Tubish fell silent, and the sound of the waves and the birds accompanied them for what seemed like an eternity.

“Immanuel, I have another question.”

“Of course Tubish.”

“If this is where I think it is, how come you are here? Are you here for everyone?”

They stopped walking, the water gliding in between their toes. “You could say that. Nobody goes through this alone. I would never forsake you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.”

“Well, I am glad you are here. Maybe we could cast a line in. I don’t suppose there are some fishing poles around here?”

Immanuel laughed. “I think we could get lucky. I do hear that there are some Northerns in this lake.”

“You don’t say. I would love to go on one more Northern chase, but I think its time I need to go. Will you help me?”

Immanuel hugged Tubish, “Yes. I will show you the way. Are you ready to go?”

Tubish thought for a moment. “Can I have a moment? I want to say goodbye. I want to remember, one last time.”

“Of course.”

Tubish looked over the water while Immanuel waited behind him. He pictured his two boys, Bart and Tim, their faces twisted in laughter. He wanted to call his brother Eenis just one more time, just to chew the fat and to ask him what had happened to the Cyclones, his favorite team. He felt his granddaughter Jewel’s arms around him, her latest artwork showing her family, all smiles. He watched Patricia’s eyes roll, his latest joke cracking everyone else up, but one that she had heard a thousand times before, and loving each time she heard it. “Goodbye.” He mouthed the words, and they were picked up by the wind, and carried aloft.

He wasn’t sad. He realized that he had the time to say goodbye to all of them before the end, and while sometimes that word didn’t get said, everyone knew. In that, the long illness had been a blessing. He got time to get things together, or more like Patricia did for him. He got to see everyone one last time. He passed on in peace, something that he was grateful for.

His life was incredibly blessed, and Tubish thanked God for that. “I’m ready Immanuel. It’s time.”

Immanuel placed his hand on his shoulder, and they resumed walking down the shore line. The waves lapped on his feet. Not twenty feet away, a large maroon and gold fish leaped out of the water, trying to grab an insect. He only saw it for a moment, but Tubish would have sworn it was a Northern.