In the half century that I've been alive, I have only been to two funerals that had over 100 people there. Big Ken's funeral was one of them. His grandkids called him Grandy. He certainly was a grand man - standing 6'4" he was a big man but gentle by nature. He was quiet, not a big talker, but when he did talk, it was insightful, and ususally made YOU think, sometimes for hours after you had spoken with him. I called him Uncle, but he was really my cousin by marriage. He touched the lives of so many people - and it was amazing to see just how many in the church that day we were all paying our respects. Words that describe Big Ken are humble, honorable, devoted to God, teacher, coach, mentor - the example he set is hard to emulate, but I try daily. Big Ken made you think about your life choices and why you were making them. He would offer advice, but it was never judgemental. Big Ken was an icon who made a big impression on my life. He loved his garden too! ...
So, when I met Dennis, his spirit was pretty beat down. Needless to say, the divorce took a huge toll on him. He had lost his mojo. His self confidence had been squashed by the situation. And then he met me. I immediately made him make a bucket list. I made him think of all the things he always wanted to do but for reasons that shall go unnamed, he had lost his chutzpah to attempt them. I told him - YOU NEED A THEME SONG. He couldn't give me one that really fit him, so I chose BACK IN BLACK by AC/DC. Needless to say, when you're riding down the road cranking this in the car, you feel like you can take on the world - and forget about the nay sayers in your life, you can do anything! Think of this like the "at bat" songs that baseball players have. Like Chipper Jones used to have Ozzy Ozbourne's "Crazy Train". Put it this way, Dennis didn't really embrace this idea. But at the time it fit - not only for his personality, but also for his finances. He worked 4 jobs to get out of his divorce debt without filing bankruptcy. If that ain't Back in Black impressive, I don't know what is. I still made him listen to the song. Eventually my choice for his theme song fell by the wayside. When LMAO's song "Sexy and I know it" came out, that became his new song. Now he cranks it when it comes on and I sing Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle...Do the wiggle man! What is your theme song? What's that?!?!! You don't have one? You better get you one!
