Legacy: Money, property or something of value bequeathed in a will.
At my age, a man begins to wonder just what kind of a legacy he can leave behind after he dies. I guess if I were to have a big bank account or some lofty ideals worthy of recognition, there might be some options. But realistically; what’s a guy like me got a chance of leaving behind that could fall in a plus column? I’m for certain sure that the number of folks saddened by my passing will be few and far outweighed by those saying, “I thought he died a long time ago.”
Now, I’m not really all fired interested in being remembered, I just hope not to be an embarrassment to the family I leave behind. So, with that in mind, I began a one man brainstorming session to figure out how to exit this old world with a bit of dignity. After a lot of thought and some real soul searching, I faced the fact that dignity was a goal probably far too high, and figured I’d have to settle somewhere farther down the totem pole of respectability. Than one night I received word that an old fishing buddy we dubbed, “Bass Bug Billy I,” had died after a long illness, leaving a widow and, “Bass Bug Billy II,” (a bit of a surprise late in life!) behind with a stack of bills and an empty bank account. With uncommon clarity the fisherman’s part of my brain kicked in and a plan was hatched. By the very next morning a flyer was distributed to every local fisherman, sporting goods store and bait shop in the area. It read;
NOTICE
As most of you are aware, our good friend and fishing buddy, poor old “Bass Bug Billy I” has passed on to the big Bass pond in the sky. Unfortunately, due to his long illness, his family spent all they had
to make Billy’s final days as comfortable as possible. Those that knew him best
knew his dear wife was as committed to her church’s food pantry as Billy was
to Bass fishing. We’ve decided to make this years opening day of Bass a tribute to,
“Bass Bug Billy I”. Tickets will be available at $50.00 each with all proceeds going to help
offset some of Billy’s outstanding medical expenses. Additionally, a 50/50 drawing
will be held with the proceeds going to replenish the church food pantry,
where Billy’s widow works diligently to feed the less fortunate.
Each 50/50 ticket will cost $5.00 and two canned foods of your choosing.
Later that evening I went to the family calendar to enter the event only to see the day was previously marked off by my wife for a wedding that I had forgotten all about. I had already been told in no uncertain terms that my attendance at the wedding was mandatory and non-negotiable. I now had to pull up the devious part of my brain (unfortunately not too hard a task), to figure a way out of this one.
I immediately put a copy of the flyer in an envelope, typed my name and address on it and had it ready for the post office the next morning. A few days later as I sat down to dinner with my bride, I sorted through the mail and came across the envelope. I opened it up as if I’d never seen it and as I read it I blinked back a tear. I cleared my throat, set my fork down and excused myself from the table quietly. My wife picked up the letter and read it, then came into the living room and asked me if I was OK. I mumbled something about what a great guy he was, so giving and fun loving and all that and she said, “well, are you going to go?” I thought, OK I’ve got her nibbling so I said, “no honey, don’t you remember, that’s the day of the wedding. I’ll just buy a ticket and send a friend.” She said, “Are you sure?” and I responded, “oh yes, I’d rather be with you Sweet Pea!” That must have come across as being a bit disingenuous because I felt her hesitate and drop the bait. I quickly jiggled it by saying, “I might take the money I was saving for the new trolling motor and throw it in the kitty also.” She picked the bait back up and the old bobber was showing signs of new life. Quiet filled the room for several minutes as hope and despair waged an invisible war overhead. She was the first to crack and say, “Well, it’s not like he planned it this way. Maybe you should consider going and I’ll see if my sister can go to the wedding with me.” BAM – the bobber was all the way under and WAMMO I set the hook. “Ah dear, how is it that you always think of others and put their needs ahead of yourself? I sure don’t deserve the likes of you.”
Now she knows she’s on the hook and starts to fight it some. “Well,” she said, “if my sister goes, maybe we can stay an extra day and do some shopping. Only trouble is I don’t have that kind of money this month.” I loosen the drag a little and give her some slack hoping the line doesn’t break. I got the rod tip way up in the air as I gently pump her closer to the net. I say, “You know sweetie, we can’t do it all, so how about instead of me giving my trolling motor money to the church, you take it for your shopping trip instead.” She slid right into the net and into the safety of the live well without even realizing it.
Later that night I got thinking that come June, about 50 to 100 fishermen will show up with money in their hands and their wife’s blessing to go fishing for the day. Talk about a legacy! Now why couldn’t I have thought of that for my legacy!?