One of the benefits of growing older, is being able to look back at life and realize just how many people cross your path each day. Some of them "come and go" with little impact upon you. Others come to "stay" and always remain in a special place tucked deep inside your heart. That would be the case with my very special friend, Marion Barton Barnett. Marion and I met in 2006 when I was a caregiver for him as a CNA at the Wheaton House, Mennonite Manor, South Hutchinson. We only knew one another for a short span of 2 years. But oh, did we EVER pack a lot of living and relationship building into that very limited amount of time. It was a gift, a blessing from God above to be able to know him and to be with him when he passed from this world into the next one. I never expected to meet a man who could end up being like a father to me but Marion Barnett was. I wasn't able to attend his funeral when he passed away but I've been given another chance to "visit" with him. The very last day of the Bike Across Kansas rolls right through Marion's old "stomping grounds", Linn County, Kansas. He is buried in the cemetery at Parker, Kansas. So before I leave Parker, I'm going to look my old friend up and let him know that I still remember him and the wonderful stories we used to share. Of all the BAK rides that I could have signed up for in the years past, this one is the one I was supposed to be on.
Marion and I-Spring 2008
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