“I thank you for the kindness, and the times that you got tough. And Papa, I don’t think I said, ‘I love you’ near enough.”
– Dan Fogelberg, “Leader of the Band”
Matthew Osborne
I’ve spent a lot of time lately telling stories about my father, his struggles with health and how I have been dealing with the possibility of losing not only my dad, but one of my best friends.
And as many folks know, that reality has come to pass. Pops died Friday morning after many recent health challenges.
I have been receiving a lot of texts, phone calls, hugs and pats on the back of encouragement since, and I appreciate all of them.
But it wasn’t until Saturday night when I started to really understand what was important about preserving my near-46 years of memories with Pops.
I finally had a chance to sit down and catch up with my two oldest friends, Kevin and Tom, whom I have known long enough to have lived through a lot of the legendary stories that Pops was involved in.
As I talked to them for about 90 minutes combined, it was amazing how many great memories flooded back not just for me, but for them, too. Some may wonder why I have written so many columns in which Pops appears as a central figure and character in the story of my life, but he was honestly a modern-day Hercules, whose tales sound made up but are completely true.
Kevin agreed with me the other night that you might begin a story with “You’re not going to believe what Pops just did,” but as you come to know him, you really do believe.
The stories are what they are and many of them are woven into legend by now, but Kevin and I identified that they do have a common theme.
The tie that binds the tales is Pops being the kind of man who was bold enough to say what needed to be said, defend what needed defending and have the back of his family and friends with unwavering loyalty.
Regarding the many stories involving Pops being a take-on-all-comers kind of dude, Kevin said, “He never started anything, but he finished it. He was never going to let anyone mess with his people.”
We agreed that, when challenged, Pops always pushed back and made sure the other party understood their role and place in the situation. While this often applied to altercations in the wild, we came to realize in our conversation Saturday that this was his method of parenting as well.
He taught me what was right, gave me the respect and responsibility to execute those things, but if I pushed back on him, like so many wayward barflies of the past, he was not going to back down from that challenge. I would know quickly that I screwed up and that I better fall in line, lest I face reprisal.
But the overall message remains. Like a bulky Irish Mr. Miyagi, Pops was teaching me a life lesson with all his mythic adventures. Love your friends and family, sacrifice to take care of them, demand the best out of yourself and those around you.
And if they get in your face, stare right back and say, nope, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. As his legend always will be.
Rest in peace, Pops.
Matthew Osborne is the editor of The Northeast Georgian. Reach him at 706-778-4215 or editor@TheNortheastGeorgian.com.