TrumpetMaster - View Single Post

mike ansberry · 05-13-2006, 10:53 AM

Hey, Liad. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I should have just said that I don't buy into this idea entirely. Sometimes your attitude towards an event does affect your emotional reaction. But sometimes it doesn't. When I was young I had a job cleaning up a drive in theater on Saturday morning. I don't know if you know what that is like, but cleaning septic tanks would be better. The job was disgusting, and no amount of positive attitude would change that. I didn't grouch about doing the job. I took care of business and didn't whine to others about it. But I got a different job just as soon as I could find one.

Joey was killed when he was riding his bike and was hit by a truck. He was out riding with friends. They liked to go on long (15+ mile) bike rides. He was a fitness nut and liked to exercise. He had said that if God told him that he had one day to live, he'd like to spend it with his friends, and have just enough time to look up and see death coming and say, "here I come, God". He went out just the way he wanted to go.

As far as my reaction to my son's death, my family and I are devout Roman Catholics. We believe furvently that Joey is in heaven. We would not want him to have to come back here. We are happy for him. It is a purely selfish feeling we have. His loss has left a huge void in our lives that will never be filled. We go on each day. We have a teenage daughter, and we owe it to her to make as normal a life as possible.
We have no regrets about our relationship with Joey. He was a good kid and we did the very best job we could raising him. We have started a college scholarship in his name.

I think most people who know me would say that I have a positive attitude about life. But some situations cause emotional reactions no matter what your attitude is. No amount of positive thinking is going to make me happy bout losing my son.

05-13-2006, 10:53 AM	#9 (permalink)
mike ansberry Piano User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Clarksville, Tennessee, USA Posts: 319	Hey, Liad. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. I should have just said that I don't buy into this idea entirely. Sometimes your attitude towards an event does affect your emotional reaction. But sometimes it doesn't. When I was young I had a job cleaning up a drive in theater on Saturday morning. I don't know if you know what that is like, but cleaning septic tanks would be better. The job was disgusting, and no amount of positive attitude would change that. I didn't grouch about doing the job. I took care of business and didn't whine to others about it. But I got a different job just as soon as I could find one. Joey was killed when he was riding his bike and was hit by a truck. He was out riding with friends. They liked to go on long (15+ mile) bike rides. He was a fitness nut and liked to exercise. He had said that if God told him that he had one day to live, he'd like to spend it with his friends, and have just enough time to look up and see death coming and say, "here I come, God". He went out just the way he wanted to go. As far as my reaction to my son's death, my family and I are devout Roman Catholics. We believe furvently that Joey is in heaven. We would not want him to have to come back here. We are happy for him. It is a purely selfish feeling we have. His loss has left a huge void in our lives that will never be filled. We go on each day. We have a teenage daughter, and we owe it to her to make as normal a life as possible. We have no regrets about our relationship with Joey. He was a good kid and we did the very best job we could raising him. We have started a college scholarship in his name. I think most people who know me would say that I have a positive attitude about life. But some situations cause emotional reactions no matter what your attitude is. No amount of positive thinking is going to make me happy bout losing my son. __________________ "Music is a fire in your belly that has to come out of your mouth, so you'd better put a horn in the way before someone gets hurt" (paraphrase of Bleeding Gums Murphy)