Daniel Elizondo, Editor
Posted: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 4:10 pm

As an editor and writer, it’s sometimes difficult to come up with a subject to write about in a column. Such as how I came up with the title of my column for the Silsbee Bee – that dreaded writer’s block.

But it is even more difficult to write after unfortunate circumstances within our family.

Making an emergency trip to Pleasanton on Nov. 9 brought bad news to my wife and her family as my father-in-law lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

Things happen for a reason and our quickly planned trip on that dreadful Friday was meant to be with him in his last moments here.

This dreadful disease is nothing but horrible and unforgiving to anyone or anything for that matter.
Though he will be missed, the healing begins as we feel that he is in a better place, pain-free and happy.

As a family, it is amazing how something of this magnitude brings people close together as one, to be strong.

For my wife, she is riding a rollercoaster ride of emotions but we all pull together to make it through the toughest of days.

I knew my father-in-law for years before I married his daughter. But in the last year, we had become closer because of his love for sports – and cows for that matter.

He may have wanted me to help out with feeding, but my “city-boy” demeanor made me reluctant at times.

Because raising cattle would be a burden to my mother-in-law, the family made the pain-staking decision to sell them where they could get better care.

In fearless mode, I, along with my brother-in-law, who is also deemed “city-boy”, managed to help corral the cattle into a pen to be hauled off. Sure it was pretty comical at times, and I’m sure my father-in-law was shaking his head at us from up above.

It was times like that last week, that balanced the week off between happiness and the sadness of losing a great man, husband, father, grandfather and friend.

Times like this you realize that some of the things people do or the way they act with petty situations, are so minuet compared to the loss of a close loved one.

But then we, as a family, are blessed that we were able to put aside our normal lives of work and school to tend to what needed to be done.

While away tending to my family, here in Silsbee, the community mourned the loss of a loved one in Miss Rhonda from Brookshire Bros.

Though I had only spoke to her a handful of times since moving to Silsbee, she always brought a smile to my face. Even when she would ask me if I needed help carrying out one small bag with two items.

It was a long, drawn week, but such as life, we pick up where we left off and continue to live life as we know.

And even though there are no more cows, maybe a pair of boots will still be needed – just because.