WORK DAY

There were so many people at the Bar-B-Que today.  . I  met people that I did not know, that knew Danny. Even people from out of state came in to eat and tell me they knew Danny and are praying for us....It is all so overwelming.....Danny was a simple man, a country boy, and yet there was alot more to him.........

I remember very little about the funeral....I remember the two songs that were sung by a local gentleman that sings and plays the piano at weddings and funerals...a man that we know well, a man that had just lost his wife a month before....He played and sang , as always, beautifully....the one hymn that Danny wanted; "I Have a Mansion, Just Over The Hill Top" and the one I chose,; "Wind Beneath My Wings"...( because He WAS and STILL IS MY HERO).....

I remember looking in the church over to my right at all the Ga. State Patrol and the out of town Oconee County Deputy that were honorary pallbearers that were seated  in the little alcove...I remember seeing that Oconee County Deputy break down and cry like a baby......because she was one of "OUR ADOPTED" ....She has stood the pain of being maced and tazed (so she could feel the same pain she could inflict on criminals)....but I have never seen her cry like she did that Thursday...You see, she loved Danny like a daddy....and me like a mama....

The Ga. State Patrol were Danny's friends...some he went hunting and fishing with...The preacher of our Church that did the eulogy, was also a fishing buddy....Preachers, from all the other local churches were at the service...some having to stand among the many  that were packed  in the basement....

We had several "adopted " children at the service...Me and danny could only have 2 children, but our children brought home children from their school and somehow or the other, we always ended up "mama" and "pop" to all of them....they all showed up the day Danny died and came over everyday to offer help, comfort, prayers and love.....

Danny was aso a father figure to our many nieces and nephews...teaching them how to fish, how to hunt, how to clean what you shoot or catch.....we would gather them up and have Easter Egg hunts, Trick or treat, movies.... they were the kids we could not have and they love us....Six of the nephews were the pall bearers.

I heard today about how there was not enough room in the church for all the people that came...that the entire basement was full, and the stairwells, and the Sunday school rooms and the Choir pews.....and there were still people standing outside..in the pouring down freezing rain.....and then there were people that had went on to the grave yard to wait....

And it really brings home the fact that....It doesn't matter how much money you have, it doesn't matter how many diplomas you have, it doesn't matter what brand name clothes you wear, nor how perfect your smile is.........My Danny had $40.00 in his billfolder when he died, and a depleted savings account because of all the drugs he had to take....My Danny never made it past the 6th grade, he had to go to work in the cotton mill......but he was the smartest man I have ever known.....My Danny only wore cheap Rustler Jeans, and Walmart tennis shoes that cost $9.00 a pair..and would wear them completely out before he would get anymore......My Danny, bless his heart, did not have ANY TEETH because they pulled them before the open heart surgery...and we were waiting on my tax return to buy him dentures this year, because I had maxed out the credit cards  and also our savings on his medications ....I once asked him.." Danny, are you embarrassed to talk and smile at people with no teeth?"...and he replied, " Honey, it is not what is in your mouth, it is what comes out of your mouth ." 

What really matters is how you treat others......"DANNY WAS ALWAYS HIMSELF,  DANNY WAS NOT FAKE,  DANNY ALWAYS HAD A SMILE FOR EVERYONE,  DANNY WAS A KIND AND DECENT MAN,  DANNY WAS SO BRAVE AND STRONG; NEVER COMPLAINING, AND WE DID NOT REALIZE HE WAS IN SO MUCH PAIN,  DANNY NEVER MET A STRANGER, DANNY WAS NEVER TOO TIRED OR HURT TOO MUCH TO HELP ANYONE"....AND THE ONE I LIKE THE MOST....

           "DANNY WAS A SPECIAL PERSON"

I knew the day they burried my Danny, that there were a lot of friends and family  there with us.....but I was still so much in shock, I did not realize how many it truly was.....I was told  that they stopped counting at 799, which did not incude small children....

ALL THE GOLD IN THE WORLD COULD NOT BUY THE PRIDE  THAT I HAVE TONIGHT IN MY HEART FOR MY DANNY...He truly knew what LIFE was all about.