New Lily

In Memoriam of One Who Lived to Serve (and a Quote of the Week)

Quote of the Week:
Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, “A Psalm of Life”

I am struggling with confusing emotions today, and so at 9 Kid Fitness I want to write about someone who inspired me by his life. I am sad because I mourn the death of my father-in-law, Charles Hetzel, who passed away this afternoon. Yet a life such as his can really only be celebrated.  When people die  it is easy to put them up on a pedestal, and I think that is a fine thing to do.  But today there is no need for a pedestal.  Charlie lived his life truly and unbelievably for other people.  I don’t think he knew any other way.  When so many of us are selfish and focused on our own lives, men like my father-in-law seem to be from another time and place when people lived to be of service.  That is how I remember him.   [Read more…]