RIP, Kevin Gile
On October 5, we received word that our brother-in-law, Kevin Gile of Gorham, ME, had been killed in a motorcycle accident. That phone call turned our lives upside down and we are only just now recovering.Mrs. Poobah is from a rather large family. Kevin was one of two boys in a blended brood of eight step-brothers and sisters. From the stories we've heard about his childhood, Kevin may best be described as a "scamp" in his younger days. Fond of teasing and practical jokes, we're sure he provided at least his share of sibling discomfort. His sisters all bare testimony to that. In short, he was a pretty regular kid.
As he grew older he took up marathon running, skiing, motorcycling, and joined the Marines. I first met Kevin when he agreed to become an usher at our wedding. Not being from Maine, the Poobah's side of the family couldn't scrape together enough male relatives to complete a wedding party so Kevin pitched in and stood up for us. That's the kind of person he was, a bit of a scamp one moment, endearingly friendly and helpful the next.
As usual, deaths bring on an opportunity to evaluate our own lives. Kevin has helped us to better understand the importance of living life now and not holding off for later. Life is a fickle thing, even for the omnipotent among us. We pledge to try to do better on that score.
He also reminded us of the power of friends. Being a little on the anti-social side hasn't left us with bus loads of friends. In fact, we not sure that we could pull together any better funeral turnout than we could a wedding party - and this time Kevin won't be around to help us round out fill things out. Kevin, we will try to make more friends, however much it pains us.
Finally, Kevin reminded me of the value of family. We don't really have much contact with our family. In fact, it's been nearly 20 years since we last spoke to our sister - and yes, there are many good reasons. While we do keep tabs on the Omnipotent Dad, there isn't much of our family left elsewhere. Omnipotent Mother died in 1981 and all four grandparents are gone, as are five of our aunts and uncles. Today the family is us, Mrs. Poobah and Poobah the Younger. It surely needs some filling out. So Kevin, we pledge to strengthen ties with the folks we have left.
So there you go. Life goes on. People are born. People die. People are happy or sad. Impressions are made. Sometimes it's not much, but it's all we have...each one of us.
Omnipotentspeed Kevin.
Truth Told by Omnipotent Poobah, Friday, October 14, 2005
