Tom and Kenne Turner
This is a posting I had drafted not knowing that I would be getting word Tom was in the hospital and after talking to my nieces and Tom’s nurse, made arrangements to fly to Seattle. It was not to be, Tom passed away November 13, 2014.
Much has happened since then , sharing, grieving and loving. What follows is the draft that was not finished. The video was put together the last time I saw Tom, which was at his daughter, Lisa’s wedding on the island of Lummi near Bellingham, Washington.
kenne
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My brother has been in my thoughts a lot lately. For sometime now, he has not been responding to email and voice-mail. Lisa, his daughter tells me he has become a “bonafied hermit.”
“Healthy in body and mind,
I end my life before pitiless old age
which has taken from me my pleasure
and joys one after another,
and which has been stripping me
my physical and mental powers,
can paralyse my energy and break my will;
making me a burden to myself and others.
For some years I had promised myself not to live beyond 70;
and I fixed the exact year for my departure from life . . .”
— Paul Laforgue
(This was hand written by Tom on a statement from the BigRock-Health Clinic, Tumwater, Washington — date not known.)
Poignant, impassioned; a deeply touching anniversary expression, Kenne. The Turner flame shines bright as Tom has truly “become beyond being.”
Thank you for your very thoughtful comment.
Reblogged this on Becoming is Superior to Being and commented:
This blog has many postings over the years referencing my brother, Tom Turner. Today is the anniversary of Tom’s death, three years ago. The man had two degrees in English, yet strangely he was not into writing, only reading and quoting — it was the teacher in him. Going through his letters and notes, it was not always easy to know when it was him and someone he loved reading. “– the degree of credence with which one reads any given news report is always in inverse ratio to the degree of knowledge one has of the situation that is being reported.”
He went on to quote Samuel Beckett who described the situation of a certain kind of artist who interested him:
“Having nothing to express,
Nothing with which to express;
Together with the need to express.”
— kenne
I am so sorry that you have lost your dear brother. My sister died about this time two years ago . I empathise and send you love.
He was 16 months younger than me so it was quite a loss.
I am so sorry Ken it is never easy is it 💜