All men die, but how many men can say they really lived a quote from William (Braveheart) Wallace in 1305. Keman Simerson really lived. a literary gem from Tony Moberly just now Go big or stay home quoted by unknown Keman Simerson never stayed home another golden moment from Tony Moberly just now My good friend Keman Fred Simerson passed away on February 19th, 2014. He was the best man at my wedding, we knew each other for 46 years and for the lions share of that time I considered him my very best friend. Throughout those years I can only hope he thought of me as a friend. Period! He was a person whose guidance and counsel I sought, whose approval I cherished and was proud to consider him as close to having a brother as Ill ever know. Since I was not asked to, or forgot to ask, or perhaps was just not considered to speak at his funeral I am taking this time to express what I may have said there. Yous think with 46 years of material that Id have something profound and compelling to articulate but alas all I can do is my best which is below average on my very best day. So read on if you can tolerate the suffocating mediocrity. In the last 9 months before his death Keman and I were in FL together twice, I attended my first Packer game with him, we were in Crivitz for a pontoon weekend and then in MI for Joedagfest. There were several dinners at Jacksons with crazy Jew girl Cindy Roth (thank you dear), many lunches at Amelias, breakfasts at Andreas, a Green Bay Packer party at his house and several other sit down beautifully presented and cooked (by him) dinners at the Simerson compound. There was a surprisingly creative and softer side that came out when he cooked and set the table. Surprise surprise surprise as Gomer Pyle was known to say.. And this litany of events doesnt even include the other Packer game that I was supposed to attend with him, the first Badger game I was invited to by him and a Jeff Dunham concert that he was too sick to attend. Now if you multiple 46 years times 12 months and divide that by 9 youd come up with a figure of 61. That means that we could have had 61 different 9 month episodic periods like that throughout the course of our friendship. Thats an awful lot of living, eating, drinking that we did together. Carpe Diem as they say in Latin. Live for the day, seize the moment. Keman could be a bit of a billy goat gruff and had a vocabulary that made George Carlins 7 dirty words you can never say on TV or in mixed company look like a memo to the pope from Mother Theresa. But a mans legacy should not be judged by the context of his vernacular but rather the content of his heart. Kemans heart was as big and considerate as they come when it came to sacrificing for his family and friends. He was generous and I dare not say to a fault but rather to his own liking. If you were in need, Keman was there with a helping hand. He was our very own Mother Theresa that way. Keman was also a purveyor of the absurd and dangerous. Once while driving 75 mph in a station wagon along the FL coast Keman slipped out the back window and crawled along the luggage rack up to the drivers side of the car reached in and grabbed Larry Holcomb (our driver at the time) by the throat. Hmm, how many ways does that end badly? I know this because I was right behind Larry Holcomb in the car and quite possibly wet myself when this gnarly hand came a reaching in and pawed at Larry. One night after the bars closed he and I ended up partying on the Hoan Bridge before it was completed where he made his way across 12 beams like he was Baryshnikov doing an adagio. Why is this significant, well because there was no safety net and he wasnt tied off to anything and its at least a 200 foot drop. Me on the other hand had my arms and legs wrapped around a beam so tightly as I was tying to keep up with Keman that I think that the beam and I could have been legally married in the state of WI and had little beamettes. And where could that have gone wrong? One thing that really troubled me is I never got to have a meaningful final conversation with him. This had haunted me since his untimely passing. But alas, through the magic of todays technology and an app on my phone called texting the dearly departed, I was able to have that last bit of dialogue with him. Tony: Keman, so youve passed on and gone to heaven Keman: Yes Tony: How do you know youre in heaven? Keman: Cause all of our departed loved ones are up here and theres no Republicans. Tony: Ouch, you just had to go there didnt ya.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 17:08:37 +0000
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