Monday, June 15, 2009

Gone with the Wind


Many of you may know that I lost the love of my life, my wonderful Buddha Belly, my soul mate of 43 years on April 18, 2009. Tom was my biggest fan, my staunchest supporter, and was (without doubt) the Wind beneath my wings. With his death, my wings folded with a hard quiver and I am grounded...at least for now.

I've been asked many times why I use the word 'wind' in my titles. My usual explanation is because I was born on June 20th, a Gemini, and an Air Sign. I tell interviewers I love the way the wind moves over me, the sounds it makes, the way it clears debris from the landscape.

The truth is much harder to explain. Tom was everything to me and he gave me not only the wings to fly but flew right alongside me, clearing the way, protecting me, encouraging me when I decided to become a writer, nagging when I wanted to quit. Without a single second thought he shelled out thousands of his hard-earned money to get my first book published with a subsidy publisher. He didn't bat an eye because he had faith in me. If NY wouldn't take my work, he'd get it out there anyway he could. If it meant doing without something he wanted, he never complained. He gladly shelled out another couple of thousand on the second book without a qualm. His motto came from a quote on a card he bought me: "If you don't do it, you'll never know what would have happened if you had done it." He'd smile and add: "Go for it, sweetie."

Long before the song Wind Beneath My Wings came out, that was exactly what he was to me. He was beside me every moment of my journey from unknown, struggling writer to published author to now having a large reader base who faithfully buy whatever I write. NY may still thumb its nose at me but I'd venture to say more people on the Internet know who I am thanks to Tom than the authors who were one-hit wonders in NY and who faded into the mist, never to be read again.

I have Tom to thank for every reader I have. His encouragement and his support was beyond measure and beyond price.

Now that he is gone, the Wind has been laid to rest. It swirled among his ashes and resides in the urn that sits on my dresser. There will be no more Wind titles now out of respect for the man, the friend, the lover, the everything who has left my world.

17 comments:

  1. Love the picture, Charlee! Sending you all my best.

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  2. wow, your blog made me cry. *hugs* Wishing you all the best in things to come.
    ~Kristy

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  3. Thank you, Kristy and Cindy. I need all the support I can get right now. :)

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  4. I know how hard this article must have been for you to write, but you wrote it beautifully. Know that you have friends and people who care for you right now. The wind is still there in your heart. Minnette

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  5. Yes, it is and always will be, Minnette. I so appreciate your thoughtfulness. Thank you.

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  6. What a lovely tribute to this wonderful, special man. His love will always be with you.

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  7. Wonderful post. Too often the spouse is the least supportive individual for the writer. I, too, have a wonderfully supportive spouse. We are blessed.

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  8. Tom was one of a kind, Patricia. He did so much for others and never asked a thing for himself. He helped build over a dozen Habitat for Humanity houses and ran the local blood drive for twelve years, had given over ten gallons of blood, himself. He was a Red Cross Disaster worker and ran one of the shelters in Mississippi after Katrina. He is missed by a lot of people whose lives he touched.

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  9. Thanks so much for this touching post. I'm lucky to have a supportive spouse (although he still says, "You're cute when you write." But I guess that's better than, "When are you going to get a movie deal?")

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  10. Thanks for the love letter to your husband. My wonderful husband of 65 years passed away on December 4th. Bill was my greatest fan and supported me through thick and thin. Like your husband, Charlotte, he encouraged me through the dark days of rejections.

    I scattered Bill's ashes in our garden, his wish, and am taking a little envelope of his ashes to Bridal Veil, Oregon, where we shall celebrate his life with our dear friends, The Franciscan Sisters of The Eucharist.

    Stay the course, Charlotte. You are a gifted writer and will find your way back.

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  11. What a lovely thing to do, Anita. Tom was a Knight of Columbus and they gave me a chalice with his name engraved upon it. I asked the priest who anointed Tom to use it just once and then I had it sent to a missionary, a new priest just starting out in Africa. I have pictures of the chalice and the Mass that I'll be putting up one of these days.

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  12. I had not heard this, and you have my deepest sympathy. Like others, I cried at this heart-felt tribute. While his absence will always be felt, I'm just as sure his spirit will lift your wings again.

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  13. Your beautiful letter regarding your husband is a wonderful tribute to him. It must have been really hard to write but what you said was one of the most beautiful things I have read in a very long time. You have my deepest sympathy. Everytime the wind blows his spirit will be sitting on your shoulder.

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  14. Having a true love and a wonderfulsoulmate is a great gift, and not many of us can say we found that, dear! You were blessed in love, and that means a lot. And he is still there egging you on and giving you love. True love never dies. It just gets bigger and better.

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  15. That's True Love. He knew he was a lucky man to have a woman like you.

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  16. The picture of you and Tom is lovely. What a wonderful tribute to your husband. I can't begin to imagine how lost you are without him. True love is forever.

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  17. This is a beautiful post and a beautiful photo. It's plain to see he was a special man and you had a unique and loving relationship.

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