Dad had been diagnosed with cancer January 2003.  He was staying at my house now and we had a the routine of carrot juice and herbal tea along with any other way we could think of to slow its progress.  After a few tries of Chemo we realized his body was not going to take the poison and he and the doctor agreed it was time to give up. 

 

In the evenings we would watch movies I had at the house or rented them.  I told him he had to watch "O Brother, Where Art Thou".  He wasn't sure he would like it very well in the first few scenes then it grew on him. We laughed at the characters ignorance and the line, "we thought you were a toad". 

 

Oh May 4th, a beautiful Saturday evening, dad passed away with his family surrounding him.  Children, grandchildren and great grandchildren up close.  He was not ready to go and we knew it well.  He still had plenty of life left in him and this desease stole it before it was time.  It seems it had won and had the last word until we had a cookout at Teresa and Dick's on Memorial Day, a few weeks later.  It was not surprising when we all drove out to the cemetary with our families to see how things were at his gravesite.  We began to lift the old flowers in their containers from the top soil.  Some of the kids jumped in to help, when all the sudden at the bottom of the pile was a whole family of toads.  There must have been 15 or 20 of them.  The kids were scurrying around trying to catch them and we all began to laugh the same time.  Right away I thought of the movie, and said "we thought you were a toad".   Dad had the last laugh, and we all walked away with a smile knowing he was fine and his character was untouched.  What a wonderful gift to us.