{"id":194,"date":"2004-12-10T10:37:04","date_gmt":"2004-12-10T15:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/?p=194"},"modified":"2013-03-25T11:59:17","modified_gmt":"2013-03-25T16:59:17","slug":"julie-fisher-sharpe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/?p=194","title":{"rendered":"Julie (Fisher) Sharpe"},"content":{"rendered":"

I first met Julie when I was in college at Western Michigan University. She was my “ex-wife’s” roommate. Julie had always been a friend and\u00a0we became closer when I was going through a divorce. Julie loved cats and always had several who allowed Julie to live in their house.<\/em><\/p>\n

Some time ago I walked through a garden.
\nI had been there many times before.
\nI came to see the brilliant colors of the flowers
\nContrasted with the green leaves and grass.
\nThe garden was beautiful but, as I looked around,
\nI noticed that a Rose was missing.
\nI asked the gardener what had happened to it.
\nHe told me that it had been picked
\nAnd placed in a vase on a table in a restaurant
\nAnd at a candlelit dinner at that table a couple fell in love.
\nI was glad that the Rose had ended its life on Earth
\nIn such a noble way.
\nJust then a stranger walked by and said
\n“What a beautiful garden.
\nIsn’t this the most beautiful garden you have ever seen?”
\nAnd I said yes, not wanting to diminish his moment.
\nBut I thought to myself,
\n“You should have been here yesterday.
\nYes the garden is beautiful,
\nBut it is less for the missing Rose”.<\/p>\n

Some time ago I went for a run on a road
\nThat went through a beautiful forest.
\nI often ran that way to watch the birds build their nests,
\nAnd teach their young to fly.
\nTo watch the squirrels gather nuts
\nAnd chase each other up and down the trees.
\nAs I looked around I noticed that a small Spruce Tree was missing.
\nI asked the owner of the land what had happened.
\nHe told me that the small Spruce Tree had been cut down
\nAnd taken to a nursing home.
\nIt was being used as a Christmas tree.
\nAll of the residents that were able
\nWere decorating the tree.
\nIt became the center of their world
\nAnd it brought joy to all who saw it.
\nI was glad that the small Spruce Tree had ended its life on Earth
\nIn such a noble way.
\nJust then a stranger walked by and said
\n“What a beautiful forest.
\nIsn’t this the most beautiful forest you have ever seen?”
\nAnd I said yes, not wanting to diminish his moment.
\nBut I thought to myself,
\n“You should have been here yesterday.
\nYes the forest is beautiful,
\nBut it is less for the missing Spruce Tree”.<\/p>\n

I awoke Thanksgiving Day with great anticipation.
\nThere was much work to do.
\nFamily was home and friends would be stopping by.
\nThe turkey needed to be stuffed and put in the oven.
\nThe leaves needed to be put in the table.
\nExtra chairs needed to be brought downstairs from my office.
\nAs I looked around I noticed that a Friend was missing.
\nThere was no one to ask where she had gone.
\nSo I imagined that she was needed somewhere else
\nAnd she was there brightening their day
\nAnd being a Friend to them.
\nI was glad that the pain and suffering of her life on Earth was over
\nAnd she was in a better place
\nAnd she had faced death with courage in such a noble way.
\nJust then someone said
\n“What a beautiful Thanksgiving.
\nHere we are around the table with family and friends.
\nIsn’t this the most beautiful Thanksgiving you have ever seen?”
\nAnd I said yes, not wanting to diminish the moment.
\nBut I thought to myself,
\n“You should have been here yesterday.
\nYes this Thanksgiving is beautiful,
\nBut it is less for our missing Friend”.
\nWe’ll miss you, Julie!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I first met Julie when I was in college at Western Michigan University. She was my “ex-wife’s” roommate. Julie had always been a friend and\u00a0we became closer when I was going through a divorce. Julie loved cats and always had several who allowed Julie to live in their house. Some time ago I walked through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eulogies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":390,"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194\/revisions\/390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jackswriting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}