Tribute to Don Hall
I laughed until I almost cried. And then I shared it! Another one of Don Hall’s Facebook posts, titled ‘Nailed It!’, so accurately epitomized the moment most of us were experiencing. He had spent the weekend with his wife Linda attempting what the plausible majority of all America was trying to do – be entertained in lockdown while aiming to ‘flatten the curve’ of Coronavirus. Though the cycle of life was in suspension, in his typical fashion, Don turned our frustration into laughter.
None of us could have ever imagined in the wee hours of the morning, just a few weeks later Wichita’s insightful wit of morning radio and the energizing voice of the Wichita State Shockers would abruptly end. His life tragically snuffed out by the very assailant he fought so diligently in our community for years – a drunk driver. Who would have ever imagined his end would come in this way?
Originally when I looked at his post, I thought ‘there he goes again, he knows that the only way to get through tough times is to think out of the box!’ After Don’s death, I printed out a picture of this puzzle post and it laid on my desk, untouched for months. The more I glanced at the photograph of coordinated stacks, I pondered a greater story behind all those pieces carefully arranged and sorted without having been put together.
The photo seemed to speak more about life than the evidence of a great weekend. No matter how hard we organize and plan, there is only one master that knows exactly how these interlocking fragments are designed to fit together. Each piece is instrumental to the other, yet we cannot see the clarity – only a glimpse of the design.
Although I never got to know Don as well as my husband Frank had, I was quite familiar with their longtime friendship. Having only met Don on his remotes, I understood why Frank spoke so highly of him. It was evident they shared a bond. Neither one of them knew how to say ‘no’ when there was a community need that required a commitment. With so many yes’s accepted between the two of them, it’s a bit easier to visualize the probability of initiated connections.
When Don died, a void was felt by all of us in Wichita. Even though not personally close to the loss, my mind wandered to how our lives so miraculously link us together in some way – even in grief. I recalled reading a short piece by a gentleman that spoke of losing his father. He said when a person dies, a part of self, dies with them. Albeit beautifully composed, I couldn’t wrap myself in that truth. It would be like saying, Jesus came, He died, and a part of me will never exist because of His physical absence. If what he wrote was true, then by the time we exit this world, his summation is the entirety of our worth to one another, adds up to a shell of nothingness.
Following Don and Fluffy (as he called her) on Facebook, I related to their journey of faith in Christianity. Although comforting to know Linda will have her belief to lean upon, I mourned for her as her earthly life with Don unexpectedly ended with a morning kiss. We try to sort out these tragedies, but without having the picture on the box of the puzzle to view, reason fails.
There is obviously a greater plan that we cannot see right now. Still, the urge to pander my mind caused me to try to make sense of Don’s untimely death. Strange thoughts of ‘what if the drunk driver, stopped by his car would have gone on down the road and perhaps killed a family?’ Don would have thrown himself in the line of fire to stop that!
Knowing these were such wild thoughts, I had to reel myself in. Our lives are not changed by mortality, but transformed by life. Those that have gone before us have the capacity to enrich us by their influence, whether light or deep, in a way far greater than we realize. We are made in the image and likeness of God which serves to multiply all things good. God places these people in our life as opportunity to form and mold to beautify something far greater than we can imagine.
Experiencing a sense of unworthiness to sit down and write my thoughts about the impression of how Don Hall played a role in the life of others, I belittled my action because I am not Linda. Nor am I his co-hosts, Kim Dugger-Attwater or Barbara Baan. I rethought the image of those puzzle pieces.
Seen or unseen, the impact or impression one person has on another exists. I saw the four sides to a puzzle piece with the joints and sockets formed by different connections. So to, the shadows, the colors, the vibrancy of art has its’ place, serving equal importance to majesty as a whole. My second hand exposure to the life of Don Hall may not have been noticed by him, but it was definitely felt by me. I guess that was the reason why I felt something lost.
Months have passed and I still look at the picture of the abstract pile of cardboard pieces with the lighthearted essence of its’ intention. I think of all we have gone through in this time and wonder what Don would have to say about the insanity happening in the world today. Although I’m not sure of what his exact thoughts would be, I think his reaction would throw his own human limitations into the mix in order to lessen the torque of being too serious. With his instinct to laugh at himself first, he possessed the ability to remove the weighty responsibility we all have in the need to control. A constant reminder of balance, he somehow knew we would go crazy without some kind of levity to lighten the load.
Even though Don could make us laugh and realize we shouldn’t be too full of ourselves, he did have issues of critical value. His Christianity came through quite clearly when called to defend the important matters. At the end of the day, one would know his areas of concern are the love of Jesus, the people we are entrusted to love and the charity in our hearts.
Right now, we need Don Hall’s balance. And once again I was reminded that the contributions one has made to others, endure. Those hidden puzzle pieces lying in those stacks, have their place. The formation of their edges and joints were allowed by God to be influenced by those who have gone before. Don’s post harkened a longing for the greater image, but echoed the prominence of intention.
I am grateful that Don and Fluffy spent time with that puzzle and even more appreciative that he shared it on Facebook. For me it was a demonstration that our opus is to move toward being the good in the lives of others. Much like an understanding of the term, communion of saints, there are no missing pieces. Maybe temporarily removed from our sight, each space is filled. Like the puzzle, the eyes are on the goal, but perfection awaits completion by the hand of God, not our own.
I think I’m going to frame this picture. Like every piece impacts the other, our lives serve to influence yesterday, today and tomorrow. For me, Don Hall shows me there is a balance between laughter and tears. And I will trust God to do the rest.