Rudy kept his sense of humor
Rudy had a lot of fun while he was alive -- he loved dancing, and Scotch, and horse racing, though not necessarily in that order. He almost always had a racing form handy, and frequently played the ponies.

Unfortunately, Rudy became afflicted with Lou Gehrig's Disease (also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which assured him of a long, unpleasant slide towards death. Fortunately for him, he had a good support group of friends who came over to drink with him once a week, even after he was incapable of taking food or drink without assistance.

The last time Rudy saw his support group was on St. Patrick's Day a few years back; on March 19 he finally died.

When we went to the funeral home for the calling, we saw that Rudy's casket was bedecked with a banner that read "I'D RATHER BE IN SARATOGA," Saratoga being a famous horse-racing track in the state of New York. As it turned out, Rudy himself had ordered the banner, and had even had it done over when he discovered that the mounting grommets on the first one didn't align properly with the handles on his casket.

I'm sure the banner had the effect Rudy had intended, as about everyone who saw it laughed. What could have been a mournful occasion took the air of a cocktail party, and we all stood around and told stories about what a funny guy he had been, all the way to the end.

(His tombstone is engraved with the same saying, by the way.)
( katzenfinch, Tue 16 May 2006, 22:51, Reply)