Cliff-I Just Can't See You Gone! May 1, 2010

You’re here with that big grin.

It won’t be long and it’s a smile for a mile.

There you are with a joke.

There you are with that laugh that makes one laugh.

There you are with that serious look when you’re not at all.

I can see you riding your bike.

I can see you drinking a beer in the evening after a hard day cycling.

I can see you having the first cup of coffee in the morning.

I can see you taking Lisa something as she wakes.

I can see so many things and you!

I just can’t see you gone!

You couldn’t fade away- to ease the pain.

You had to leave abruptly.

I’ve been saved the emotional “send-off”.

I won’t be saying goodbye and looking at your face one more time.

I won’t see your wife and children cry.

Except- I do. I see them now.

And now I don’t because my eyes burn with tears.

So- it sinks in more and more.

It’s no doubt easier for me for thousands of reasons.

But- he didn’t leave in my presence.

I was told. It was a shock.

He wasn’t snatched out from under my eyes though.

I don’t have to arrange the funeral. Guests. Friends. Relatives.

They probably knew what dinner would be that evening.

He was going to ride his tandem with his wife later in the week.

Next week!

The week after.

They were a team. That’s what they did.

They did all these things.

Now one half of a duet is now a solo act.

The kids. The kids. The kids.

I can see so much!

I just can’t see you gone!

Cliff was a giant of a man and a giant of a "family man"!

Here are Cliff and Lisa climbing one of the hardest hills to climb. This is Paint Gap!

"M, I have come to your name through your web site and I may be the original bearer of some bad news for you. Since you seem to know Cliff and Lisa Davis from activities at the Bicycle Inn, I unfortunately need to report that Cliff has died from an apparent massive heart attack while doing a bicycle ride with Lisa this past Saturday afternoon on the Tour de Cashiers out of Cashiers NC. Their tandem did spill at Cliff's attack, but Lisa made the fall without any injury. A good bit of effort was made to keep Cliff alive at the time, but all efforts proved unsuccessful. _______"
I found out about Cliff after I finished the Raven Rock Ramble. You know how it is. Shock. Stunned. Disbelief. Acceptance!We never know the "hour"! I'd rather "go" and leave Cliff here for a while longer.

MD: "Couldn't You take me Lord?"

God: "No MD. I need Cliff with Me."

MD: "But God- the wife, the kids!"

God: "We have to "turn this way". You'll understand it better 'by and by'."

I don't know what to say!

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