I would have to say, out of all the people that have crossed my path and influenced me, is my aunt Lori. My aunt passed away a few years ago of cancer and Hodgkin’s Disease. She had been battling it since she was young, so I’ve been told. She was short, red-headed, and full of life. She loved music, didn’t matter what it was. She actually lived near the drummer of Pearl Jam’s sister when they lived in Missouri. I met them when I was very young, but it was awesome.
I think what made her a hero to me was the fact that she listened. She never forgot anyone or anything. She was in contact witheveryone, even if they disagreed. I miss her so much. I spent so many summers withher and she was a big part of my dealing with my parent’s divorce. They divorced while I was young, so I was sent off to my grandmother’s in Kentucky wheremy aunt and cousin would come up. My uncle Bill, my mother’s brother, was often over seas and never home to visit. Even before my folks divorced, she listened to everything I rambled on about. When i grew older she would pull out of her back pocket a conversation we had and I had long since forgotten. These precious gems of memories would make me smile and reminded me that someone was listening to me. She helped me get over my fear of looking ugly and fat when i was young. She made my self- esteem go UP. However, that all faded by 7thgrade, when I didn’t see her at all. She went stationed over in Hawaii for 2 years with my uncle and cousin, and shortly there after September 11th occuredand my uncle did 2 tours. He missed his wife death. It angered me and I felt sorry for him.
She always encouraged everyone to do what they loved and what made them happy. She encouraged me to express who I was freely and get a grip of life. She passed with lots of pain, yet she slipped away out in pure elegance. I never met a more graceful and blunt person that lived life to the fullest. This made my freshmen year not so pleasant. Highschool was suppose to be fun and a growing experience, not gloom and doom. It wasn;t until my Junior year of highschool that I was coaxed from my hole. It felt as if my aunt was yelling at me telling me to get off my ass and listen to myself. Dwelling on the ill past would do me and her no good. So I got up and began listening to and for people in the life of highschool. There was little of it left, but better late than never to start gettin ginvolved and listening to those who no one else wants to hear.
Her pain was long and drawn out, and I wish it wasn’t so. I wish she could see how far my cousin and I have come; she would be so proud of us. She was an amazing woman. She cared for my cousin, who is a male, single- handedly. I don’t know how she did it since no male fugures were in my cousin’s life to keep him grounded, but she did well and he is a well rounded gentleman. I always saw her as the army wife that ran the ship even when my uncle was home. She inspired a new genre in our family, and is still inspiring us from her blue heaven.
You may be curious as to why there are whales in this blog. Well, in short, while my cousin and aunt lived in Hawaii before she was sentenced to the hospital beds they rose early and went out to the beach and watched the whales rise. What they saw, both told me was beautiful and amazing. especiall since they discovered from a tour hand that it was a mother and her son.
I hope she is swimming with the whales of her heaven and one day will be join with her family and all those whom she touched. For her listening and matriarch ruling, I would not be molded as the person I am today, nor would I be so grateful for the deeds and favors she did fr me, that I never got to tell her.
RIP: Lori Purkes
