Thank you all so much!
Dan, the funeral sucked. And was awesome. Both. We tried hard to celebrate Mike's life and his contributions to the world. He was an avid fisherman, a nuclear engineer, an environmentalist, a food geek, a gardener, and a beer lover. He was so much more than any obituary can describe.
The best part of that day involved just Bob and me. After the funeral, we drove home talking about Mike's books. In his first published book, it was set in various places in the Ottawa National Forest where he volunteered for Bob.
In the beginning of the book, he talks about a hole-in-the-wall bar in Kenton, Michigan (population 200ish) he called "Jumpy's" that had clientale simply decorate ceiling tiles. Some were gorgeous works of art- some are not.
Anyway, Mike would "go fishing" which involved an hour of fishing and then three hours of drinking beer at "Jumpy's" and chatting with the lovely Janey.
Anyway, we went to Hoppy's (first time I had every been there!), ordered a beer ($2.00 each) and saluted Mike's tile, and told them to tell Janey that he passed away after a courageous fight. It was the perfect closure for us, as Mike was NOT that guy in the coffin dressed in his fly fishing gear.
He was a part of every eagle that soars over the Ottawa, and every beaver that tries to dam up his precious trout streams. He was a guy who will never be forgotten.
And, oh, I miss him so much already.
