Elias Graves
Common misfit
Thanks
Mojo Request The family keeps getting smaller...
- Thread starter Elias Graves
- Start date
Elias Graves
Common misfit
I want to tell you all a little about my brother Danny.
He was born 11/5/46 during a wicked snowstorm in Rolla, KS. Shortly after birth, he contracted pneumonia and was near death for weeks with a horribly high fever. Apparently, he suffered some brain damage during the ordeal and he was never quite right growing up. He had an IQ probably in the 80-90 range. Almost normal but not quite.
He was an ornery, mischievous young man who frequently got his younger brother Lonnie into trouble. He loved life and was a happy go lucky guy who brought a smile to everyone he met.
When he was 17, he was visiting a friend and crossed the highway alone when he shouldn't have been. He was hit by a car.
The doctors checked him out and said he had a concussion but was otherwise alright. With three months, however, he began losing motor functions. His speech slurred, he forgot things and began to stumble and fall. Then one day he had a horrible seizure and went downhill fast.
It wasn't long til mom and dad decided they couldn't keep him at home any more. He was needing full time attention by this point. Dad worked for the railroad and was gone a lot and mom by this time had my sister, Foo and myself at home, all very young.
They made arrangements for him to live at a local country nursing home in Billings, OK. This was 1967 and he was 21 years old. Mom and dad were heartbroken they had to do this.
Now, I grew up knowing Danny as my big brother in the wheelchair in the nursing home. We went and visited every week and despite his disability, still exhibited the same zest for life I described earlier. Visiting Danny over there changed me a great deal. Being exposed to people with disabilities from a young age, it became natural for me to interact with them as you might interact with anyone else. The gang at Billings kind of adopted me as their little mascot and I had several friends there.
As I grew up and I got a job working at a similar facility working on wheelchairs, I felt right at home. His disability had primed me for working with disabled people of all stripes. Without my beloved brother Danny, I'd never be doing the job I do now. He, without his knowledge, did more to direct my future career than any other single person.
I will forever be grateful to him for that.
Today, I took mom to the he to collect his belongings. Many of the old gang I knew from my boyhood are gone but several still remain. They gathered around Danny's room asking about him. Some already knew he was gone, others didn't. It turned into a but of a wake over there again today.
But collecting up his letters, his well thumbed Bible and his stuffed animals was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
God bless you Danny Holt. We love you and will never forget you.
It was 50 days exactly from the passing of my niece Tracy to my brother's death. This has been a shitty winter.
He was born 11/5/46 during a wicked snowstorm in Rolla, KS. Shortly after birth, he contracted pneumonia and was near death for weeks with a horribly high fever. Apparently, he suffered some brain damage during the ordeal and he was never quite right growing up. He had an IQ probably in the 80-90 range. Almost normal but not quite.
He was an ornery, mischievous young man who frequently got his younger brother Lonnie into trouble. He loved life and was a happy go lucky guy who brought a smile to everyone he met.
When he was 17, he was visiting a friend and crossed the highway alone when he shouldn't have been. He was hit by a car.
The doctors checked him out and said he had a concussion but was otherwise alright. With three months, however, he began losing motor functions. His speech slurred, he forgot things and began to stumble and fall. Then one day he had a horrible seizure and went downhill fast.
It wasn't long til mom and dad decided they couldn't keep him at home any more. He was needing full time attention by this point. Dad worked for the railroad and was gone a lot and mom by this time had my sister, Foo and myself at home, all very young.
They made arrangements for him to live at a local country nursing home in Billings, OK. This was 1967 and he was 21 years old. Mom and dad were heartbroken they had to do this.
Now, I grew up knowing Danny as my big brother in the wheelchair in the nursing home. We went and visited every week and despite his disability, still exhibited the same zest for life I described earlier. Visiting Danny over there changed me a great deal. Being exposed to people with disabilities from a young age, it became natural for me to interact with them as you might interact with anyone else. The gang at Billings kind of adopted me as their little mascot and I had several friends there.
As I grew up and I got a job working at a similar facility working on wheelchairs, I felt right at home. His disability had primed me for working with disabled people of all stripes. Without my beloved brother Danny, I'd never be doing the job I do now. He, without his knowledge, did more to direct my future career than any other single person.
I will forever be grateful to him for that.
Today, I took mom to the he to collect his belongings. Many of the old gang I knew from my boyhood are gone but several still remain. They gathered around Danny's room asking about him. Some already knew he was gone, others didn't. It turned into a but of a wake over there again today.
But collecting up his letters, his well thumbed Bible and his stuffed animals was one of the hardest things I've ever done.
God bless you Danny Holt. We love you and will never forget you.
It was 50 days exactly from the passing of my niece Tracy to my brother's death. This has been a shitty winter.
Last edited:
Elias Graves
Common misfit
He was an ornery one.
This one is a stark reminder of how life was on a farm back in the day.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Thanks. Man, I haven't been this fucked up since my dad passed. This one has been really hard on all of us. Danny was everyone's favorite brother. He was thrilled when you came to visit, never bitched cause you didn't make it last week. He never engaged in family gossip or politics and you could 100% count on him to cheer you up.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Not really "in a way" steered me. It did steer me. I've known that since I made my first custom wheelchair in 1987.
Elias Graves
Common misfit
Athiest_Peace
Angry Amoeba
So sorry for the loss. Mojo and prayers for you and your family EG and Foo.
Thanks for sharing about Danny.
Thanks for sharing about Danny.
Scott Powell
Blackmore Wannabe
Mojo