I want to thank our Culver City community for their support as I am dealing with the loss of Charley, my beloved husband for more than 25 years.
Many of you know I told him when we married that we were going to live in Culver City, my home since 1970, and not in his house in Westwood.
As we walked our dogs around the neighborhood, he often told me how glad he was to be a resident of Culver City.
I have two poems to share. The first I wrote for Charley many years ago is entitled “Touching”
As your fingertips touch the edge of my hand I feel a sense of joy
It’s not the same as once it was when we were girl and boy
Your touch now makes me feel secure and cherished in a way
I know that you will care for me and I for you each day
Though our skin’s no longer smooth and our hands are rough
Gentle touches that we give are never quite enough
As your strong and competent hand gently caresses mine
I know that no matter what happens everything will be fine
We both know that as we go through the years together
Many storms will come our way that we’ll successfully weather
No matter what the future holds we will not need too much
For we can both feel secure in each other’s touch.
On a Tuesday, we brought Charley home from the hospital and he passed away in our living room from Acute Myloid Leukemia the following morning, the day before Thanksgiving. I walked into the room just before 5 a.m.
I touched his hand then put my hand upon his heart — it was still beating
I kissed his cheek and I could tell he was still breathing
I lifted my hand and stepped back from the bed
His breathing stopped – and he was dead…
He had waited for me to say “Goodbye”
That it was OK for him to die.
Now though I’m sad and filled with sorrow
He’s made it easier to face tomorrow
For I know his love is with me still and that his pain has ceased
We’ve helped each other through the years and found our ways to peace.
After the memorial service at Grace Lutheran Church on Saturday, Dec. 17, most of his ashes will be scattered at sea, but at the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition next June some will be placed in the Cal State Long Beach rocket his Experimental Sounding Rocket Assn. students are building and scattered in the atmosphere when the parachute is deployed after the launch.
Dr. Hoult, Culver City’s honorary poetess laureate, may be contacted at houltight@aol.com
