We all know how stubborn Perry can be. He doesn't like to be told no, and he sure as hell isn't going to let cancer keep him from doing what he wants. Gramps shouldn't be getting up on his own, he physically can't do it! Early this morning he decided to get up to go to the bathroom by himself and took a little stumble and gashed open his arm. A few stitches later and a hospital gown and a few other things stolen by Lori and Bubba and they should be home ASAP! (unless those two end up in jail, just got an update they're up to six puke bags stolen....)
Thanks again for the kind words, here are the latest!
Thanks again for the kind words, here are the latest!
When I was a young boy...(always wanted to start a story like that)... us Kassing's would frequent Jackson Hole . I was pretty young, in fact so young I was too scared to run the Snake River . Alright, so I was probably old enough to run the snake, but I wasn't blessed with Gramps or Bubba's "Fearless" gene (thanks Mom) so I stayed back and kept an eye on our camp. (Like any brave man would.)
I do remember, however, spending a day fishing with my Dad and Gramps. We weren't out long before the weather came in and forced us to pack up. As we hiked back Gramps slid on a rock and sliced his leg pretty good. I'll never forget the panicked feeling I had watching my Grandpa fall. Of course, he acted as if it was no big deal, cleaned it up, covered it up and walked on. It was that moment I thought Gramps was a literal Superman. Who falls down, slices their leg on a boulder and doesn't cry? (Don't tell him this, but if that's me...you better believe My Dad and Gramps are carrying me out. Not only are they carrying me out, I'm getting pampered the rest of the trip and then reminding everyone of my fall the next year so I am pampered then as well.)
I'm not sure why I continue to reflect on that memory so often lately. Maybe it's the last time I was scared for Gramps. Or, really, the only time I was scared for Gramps. At least until this final bout with cancer. As Meghann mentioned in her introduction to this blog, we've been blessed with relatively good health in the Kassing family. I don't know why. We've consumed more Coke Products and Movie Popcorn than the entire country of New Zealand
I've had a difficult time accepting this, but then, there are times when I know things will be alright. I think I can speak for the entire Kassing clan, when I say we have found comfort in the memories of others. We have found comfort hearing, watching and learning of the relationships Gramps has made and the lives he has touched. We have found comfort knowing the joyous reunions awaiting him in heaven and the fact that we will all see him again. Although Gramps should have had many more years to live, if you count the lives he has impacted and the stories he has told, he has lived a thousand years. The man, even in his weakest state can move an entire room. Hell, he even has his own blog.
I could go on and on...(one trait I picked up from Gramps)...but I'm sure there is only so much one person can write on one blog and I need to save space for the memories of others to be shared.
I love you Gramps. We love you. And we love you Bubba. Bubba, you're strength is one of the most underrated attributes you have. Thank you for taking care of Gramps and for standing by his side for over 50 years. I know the reason he has been able to fight as long as he has is because he needs more time with you.
As much as we need him here, there is an army in heaven awaiting an incredible General and that man is my Grandpa. Thank you for showing us what matters most. For teaching us that the most important thing we can develop in this life is our relationship with others. Thank you for being a wonderful father to my Dad (and Mom), a grandpa to me and Great Grandpa to my children. May each of us carry your loving, caring legacy forward as I know you would want us to.
Brock
Before we moved, I remember going over to see Perry about a Valentine Day idea we had. I asked him about a poem we might use and engrave it on glass in a picture frame. We brainstormed it and came up with a poem. It said:
Shirley...
As we talked,
I couldn't help but notice
(hiding on your lips)
One half of a perfect kiss.
As we walked,
I couldn't help but wonder
If the other half was mine
Or something I would miss.
As we parted,
I couldn't help remember
How seldom and how random
A perfect kiss might be.
The how and if;
The when and where to be.
So I talk and walk
And watch...and wait to see.
Perry called me back on Valentine's Day and said;
"It worked, she's crying all over the place".
We both had a good chuckle and a great Valentine's Day continued.
This little story personifies Perry as well as Shirley. The unconditional love I been privileged to see between them make my day when I think about them.
When Perry was Bishop of our ward, I was the Sunday School President. We had a group of youth that were particularly troublesome at the time. Perry showed great patience and love for them, and each of them made it through the terrible teens. While a few wondered what he was doing, he knew the road on which to take them. He made a big difference by taking these girls through the time of finding themselves in the world. He was always a patient man in all other aspects of being a Bishop as well as a friend.
It seems that we don't let our friends know more of how we feel before circumstances strike that bring those things to mind. Of this I am certainly guilty. There is a poem that I have found that sums up my feelings for and of Perry. It is him to a tee. I can always picture him standing at the pulpit or just conversing with friends, he ever present smile and the twinkling humor in his eyes.
Perry is the man! A man of the family and a man of God.
The Bridge Builder
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again will pass this way;
You've crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you this bridge at the evening tide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head:
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."
Need I say more?!
My Love and Prayers and thankfulness for true friends.
Bill Froehlich
To put memories of my Gramps in a brief blog post is impossible. I wrote a post about him back in July on my own blog that describes how a hero was created in my eyes.
To put memories of my Gramps in a brief blog post is impossible. I wrote a post about him back in July on my own blog that describes how a hero was created in my eyes.
There are so many things to be said about him that I couldn’t touch in one short post.
When I was about 2 years old my family took a camping trip to Jackson Hole . Something I remember vaguely, but have had stories retold to me over and over again of the disturbance I caused in an Evanston Wyoming Arby’s restaurant…I’ve heard the word “blow out” couldn’t even describe this catastrophe, and that the high chair was more than likely obliterated after we left.
Needless to say, I was too young, and a little too sick to ride the Snake River that trip. I spent the day with Gramps instead. Like I mentioned, I was young and don’t remember much of this other than stories he told me of two black birds sitting on a fence and a picture he took of me smelling wild flowers. The picture has been hanging in my parent’s house for 26 years. What a great reminder to me of the amazing grandfather I have. A Grandfather who chose to stay back with a 2 year old when he could have been out enjoying time with his friends and family on the river.
I was never a burden to him. I don’t recall my Gramps ever getting frustrated or upset with us as kids. Even when our favorite thing to do was see how fast we could run into his rock solid belly! How I miss that big belly! Gramps was always loving and excited to see us. His love for us was constant as we got older, and for lack of better words, more stupid. Even when we would show up to his house pregnant at 17 or with random piercings and tattoos, he loved us as if we were still young an innocent. He loved us through all of our mistakes, even if he wasn’t necessarily “proud” of our choices, it never showed.
I am so fortunate that my boys have had the opportunity to know him, even if only for a short time. I frequently reflect upon the memories I have of him as a young child and can only hope my boys will do the same and take with them through life, the lessons they have learned from him. Carter was able to learn how to play spoons with Gramps a couple weeks ago while he was still feeling decent. I love that he had the opportunity to do this. He could make music out of anything! Even spoons!!
It doesn’t matter who you are, Gramps makes you feel that you are his best friend, that you are the most important thing going on in his life at that time. I am forever grateful for the moments we have shared in his office and library. Those tender moments where he would cry with me because he truly felt the pain I was going through and had the ability to say the right thing to make it all disappear, even if just for the moment. To think that I won’t get to sit out on his front porch with my Gramps again breaks my heart, but I can only help but be comforted by the legacy he leaves behind. Knowing that he will still live within us and that I will be with him again some day.
May Angels Lead you in Gramps. I love you!
Meg
Grandpa,, o gosh where do I even begin?? I will start by saying I love you!!! You are such a trooper for making it this far!! You are such an amazing grandpa I couldn't ask for a better one then you! I know for a fact you can make it through anything!!(: you always put a smile on my face!! Im gunna miss all of your inspirational stories,, your song you made for me,,... and all of your puppet shows you would act out,, but most of all your humor and the love you have for your family!!! Gramps,, you will always be in my heart and will be my GUARDIAN ANGEL!!! ♥ I know you were sent here to watch over me and that's what you have done!!(: your my best friend and i love you with all my heart!! Stay strong!!
Lyndzie Palmer
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