Our Mr. B

We were in M'boro last week for the funeral of our beloved Mr. B. Mr. B is my mom's neighbor. He always reminded me so much of my Grandpa Dirks (close to the same age, both WWII vets, loved airplanes and kids, etc.). In fact, Trevin often gets confused and calls him Grandpa Dirks. One time Kierstyn asked me, "Is Mr. B. related to us?" When I explained that he wasn't, she replied, "Then why do we kiss him on the lips?" :) That was just our Mr. B. He loved hugs and kisses and he especially loved for the kids to come over and visit. We always laughed when the kids came back from visiting Mr. B. because they smelled just like his aftershave (for many hours afterwards). We've even been at a store before and passed an older man wearing the same scent and one of the kids said, "That man smelled just like Mr. B!"

Kierstyn wrote a poem about Mr. B. and gave it to Mrs. B. at the funeral:

When the moon goes down,
and the sun rises up,
I see Mr. B's sweet smile and loving face.
His arms out for a hug
and his lips smackin' for a kiss.
Oh, the things he loved to do...
search with his binoculars for airplanes high in the sky,
listen to birds and all their words,
let the young ones feed the squirrels,
and most of all,
get visited by children of all ages.
I think it is clear that 2010 was his year.
I am very sorry about what happened,
but we all know that Mr. B is not suffering anymore.


We will miss our Mr. B. but what peace it gives us (and helps so much when talking to my kids) to know that he is in a better place surrounded by his family and friends on the other side.