I Was Thinking... More Petes

It seems we’ve been to a lot of funerals lately. There was a time in our lives when we had constant invitations to weddings, but the span of years have changed the dynamics of what we feel we are required to attend.
While weddings are a lot more fun, funerals are a very important part of our social obligations to friends and relatives. As a youngster, I went to some funerals with my family, but they were for very old people that I rarely had a close connection with.
Now that has changed. Now it is people I worked with, people I graduated with, closer relatives, or people that were a part of our social circle. In many of those cases, the same thought has often come to mind, “I wish I had called or stopped to see them more often.” Since none of us know how long we or anybody else has, it may be time to make that call or visit before we say, “I wish I had.. “.
Our most recent funeral was for a friend that was a fishing buddy of mine, someone we had traveled with, camped with, and played hours of cards with. While his official name was Morley Peterson, to us he was just Pete. He was a kind and gentle man that always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye and a quick wit. He was the type of man you knew you could count on if you needed help and someone who never expected to be paid for anything he did for you.
In his own appraisal, he was just an ordinary guy. He didn’t run for political office, become the CEO of a company, or appear on the front page of Time magazine. But we could use a lot more ordinary men like Pete.
From early on in life to well after his retirement, he worked. Some of the jobs weren’t glamorous or exciting but you knew he would always be there and do his job to the best of his ability. He was reliable, he was trustworthy, and he was honest.
When he was done working at “his job” he volunteered and worked for his community. He raised a family, paid his taxes, supported his church, and contributed to his community. For the most part, he thought of others before he thought of himself. He was a good neighbor, a good friend, and as cliché as it may seem to some, he was a good citizen. He was the type of person that made small towns the place where you wanted to raise your family.
Celebrities claim the spotlight on TV, in magazines, and in all kinds of social media. Everyone knows Taylor Swift, Patrick Mahomes, Beyonce, Elon Musk or Tiger Woods. They are trend setters for the moment but in several years new celebrities may take their place.
While they are famous and wealthy, they aren’t the bedrock of any community. They don’t organize the summer community parade, volunteer to put up the hockey boards or work at the spring city wide clean-up. But Pete did. Celebrities are too busy promoting themselves. People like Pete are the foundation of small towns and big cities as well. They have a moral compass that directs their lives and serve as an example for those they encounter.
While Pete’s passing won’t be headlines in the nightly news, for those that knew him, we realize we’ve lost a great man. Our society could use a lot more Petes.
Did You Ever Wonder? — How far up do bald people go when they wash their face?