"his better half".......Carol
Mike Royko
The best part of their day was dusk. They had a west view and she loved sunsets. Whatever they were doing, they'd always stop to sit on the pier or deck and silently watch the sun go down, changing the color of the lake from blue to purple to silver and black. One evening he made up a small poem:
The sun rolls down
like a golden tear
Another day,
Another day
gone.
She told him it was sad, but that she liked it.
What she didn't like was October, even with the beautiful colors and the evenings in front of the fireplace. She was a summer person. The cold wind wasn't her friend.............................
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This past weekend, he closed the place down for the winter. He went alone.
He worked quickly, trying not to let himself think that this particular chair had been her favorite chair, that the hammock had been her Christmas gift to him, that the lovely house on the lake had been his gift to her.
He didn't work quickly enough. He was still there at sunset. It was a great burst of orange, the kind of sunset she loved best.
He tried, but he couldn't watch it alone. Not through tears. So he turned his back on it, went inside, drew the draperies, locked the door and drove away without looking back.
It was the last time he would ever see that lovely place. Next spring there will be a For Sale sign in front and an impersonal real estate man will show people through.
Maybe a couple who love to quietly watch sunsets together will like it. He hopes so.
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I could go on, but it's too personal. And I'm afraid that it hurts. Simply put, she was the best person I ever knew. And while the phrase "his better half" is a cliche, with us it was a truth.
Anyway, I'll be back. And soon, I hope, because I miss you, too, my friends.
In the meantime, do her and me a favor. If there's someone you love but haven't said so in a while, say it now. Always, always, say it now.
excerpts from A November farewell & Thanks to all of you
The Chicago Sun-Times published these columns November 22, 1979 & Oct. 5, 1979. Mike Royko wrote it several months after the death of his wife, Carol.
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