Bear on the Beach: James Williams
Bear on the Beach: James Williams (Kevin Williams, Townsquare Media NJ)
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For the most part we think of anniversaries as something to celebrate like the day you were married or began a job. It could even be something like the amount of time you quit smoking. The definition is simply the annual recurring date of a past event with personal or historical importance. In truth every day is the anniversary of something.

It was one year ago today that my father passed away, just days after being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 87. Clearly it was a devastating event although I was really fortunate in having both my parents for as long as I did and if you listened yesterday you know my mother is still going strong at age 88. We celebrated her birthday with dinner at The Crab’s Claw Inn last night.

As heartbreaking as it was to lose my father I have always been able to take solace and comfort in the fact that the last year or so of his life was not one he enjoyed. It bothered him to no end that his physical disabilities forced him to rely on others for assistance and he would tell me time and time again how he felt terrible being a burden even though I would assure him he was not.

I truly believe that my father knew about the end before we and any of his doctors did. In the months leading up to his death he would recount detailed memories of the close friends he had lost: Frank Hoffnagle, Moose Moorehead, Buddy O’Shaughnessy and so many others. The connections usually were made in Rockaway Beach, Seaside Heights or the United States Marine Corps. He would always tell stories of the good times with them because he said it was important to remember them at their best and not at the end.

So with that said I think of James Williams shooting a running one-hand hook shot on the basketball court, bodysurfing in the Ocean, smoking a cigar at lifeguard headquarters, attending a Penn State football game, toasting St. Patrick’s Day at Klee’s, listening to Len Galloway perform at the Aztec Lounge and of course any family gathering. They are fun memories and the way he would want it.

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