God bless Swanie. RIP.

Eugene Swanson (Swanie)

Eugene Swanson (Swanie), my neighbor for many years, died a few days ago, on March 27, 2014. His obituary is here >

My wife and I moved away last summer; neighbors apparently did try to notify us, but somehow we didn’t get the news, and we were unable to pay our last respects.

We cared for this man very much, and as I think we all do upon the loss of a friend, we look back at how busy we were and wonder why we let that interfere with stopping for a moment to visit on the sidewalk or take over a home-cooked meal.

He was very good to Dee Dee. He frequently gave her little gifts, sometimes things he had in the house, sometimes things he went out of his way for, like the Big Boy coin bank pictured below, which is in Dee Dee’s bedroom today.

As you may be able to tell from his obituary, Swanie was not a religious man, but he was a kind and gentle soul, and an example of how goodness can exist apart from a religious belief; and that should give some of us pause who think our religious belief magically confers those qualities.

This is the coin bank he gave Dee Dee a few years ago, filled, of course, with his spare change. I took these pictures this evening as the sun set in Ada, MI, maybe 20 miles from where Swanie and I were neighbors.

Big Boy coin bank at dusk

Big Boy coin bank by smartphone flash

[2014-04-07]

c0