On Monday, April 22, my uncle, Neil Barlow, breathed his last and slipped away into the presence of God. Neil was survived by his devoted wife Jane and their son, David. Over the last few days, I have replayed in my head memories of times I have shared with Neil over the years. Some of them made me laugh. Some made me cry a little. Most of them made me smile.
Anyone who knew Neil Barlow could tell you that he absolutely loved sports. As far as I know, his passion for sports extended to three main teams - the Washington Redskins, Carolina Tarheels, and the Atlanta Braves. There were probably others, but these undoubtedly were among his highest passions for sure.
I can recall quite well those Sunday afternoons at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's house when the Eagles played the Redskins. My dad was an Eagles fan, and could get pretty loud during a game. Neil was certainly vocal during any game - especially Redskins games. So when you put my dad and Uncle Neil in the same room when the Eagles were playing the Skins, you were in for quite a treat!
One of my favorite memories of Uncle Neil was from a long time ago. I had come along with Jane, Neil, and David on a trip to Atlanta. Jane was going for business, and she invited me to come along to hang out with David and assist with Neil, whose health had already begun to decline. While there we all went to a Braves game together. Oh man, was I loving it! It was my first MLB experience and we had a blast!
Well, the next day of our trip, we had the whole afternoon and evening free. Jane, being the captain of the voyage, asked for entertainment and dinner ideas from the crew. David was pretty young, so I'm sure he probably didn't get a vote. Me, I was the help, so I was happy to just go with the flow. But Neil, on the other hand, he knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted another Braves game, and there wasn't anything that was going to get in his way! Jane could not understand this, we had just gone to a Braves game. But once Neil decided he was going, that was it.
As a side note, I must say I really can't blame Neil. I mean we were right there in Atlanta. And any baseball fan knows that the only thing better than a night at a MLB game is two nights of MLB games! Also, I liked to think Neil was not too sure how many more Braves games he was going to be able to see. So he might as well get in as many as he could.
So we decided that Jane and David would spend some time together, and since Neil couldn't go alone (although he certainly would have if he had to) I was elected to go along - not exactly forced against my will, though. We had nothing but a few dollars in my pocket and a credit card in Neil's. Here we were....a young teenager and a handicapped man with a craving for Braves baseball. I'll never forget the stress of having to interpret the station maps on the Atlanta MARTA train that went right by our hotel. We had to take a bus from a station to the ball field. And while it sounds a little scary to be in such a big city, I remember not being that worried or feeling that scared. It was an adventure! And Neil was leading the way!
We didn't have tickets, of course, so the first thing we did was stop at a ticket booth. Neil had the card and simply passed it through the hole in the glass and said those two magic words "Best available." In other words, he was telling them, I don't care how much it costs, get me the best seats you have! To some of you reading this, you might be wondering how in the world anyone could spend over $100 dollars in baseball tickets, but to Neil, you couldn't put a value on being in that ballpark! He was going in, and he was going to have the best seat he could buy! And boy did we have great seats! In fact, we got to sit about three or four rows up from the seats we bought because Neil was in a wheelchair! So we got to enjoy the legroom and space that the handicap row affords, just behind home plate, one section up.
I could not even begin to tell you who won the game. I saw some of the best players in the world play, but I honestly don't remember who they were. But I will never forget getting a footlong, large Coke, and singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame in the best available seats next to my Uncle Neil who yelled and yelled.
........my mind takes me from those happier days of Neil's life to days recently when Neil couldn't even speak. But he didn't have to, though. His eyes would say it all. He would strain to keep his head up and still and his eyes would light up at the sight of my children when we would come to visit. Every one of us knew that even though on the outside Neil was fading by the day, there was still a deep desire inside that frail body to walk up to a ticket booth with card in hand and ask for the best available!
And now he is still. No more shaking. No more pain. No more endless bowls of applesauce, and certainly no more embarrassing bed baths or bathroom situations. No more of that. Only rest. Only great pleasure in the best available seat right next to Jesus. One thing is for certain, though, I will cherish that memory of my time with Neil, and will be flooded with that memory again when I find myself at Turner Field, yelling at the baseball game with a footlong in one hand and a Coke in the other.
Anyone who knew Neil Barlow could tell you that he absolutely loved sports. As far as I know, his passion for sports extended to three main teams - the Washington Redskins, Carolina Tarheels, and the Atlanta Braves. There were probably others, but these undoubtedly were among his highest passions for sure.
I can recall quite well those Sunday afternoons at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's house when the Eagles played the Redskins. My dad was an Eagles fan, and could get pretty loud during a game. Neil was certainly vocal during any game - especially Redskins games. So when you put my dad and Uncle Neil in the same room when the Eagles were playing the Skins, you were in for quite a treat!
One of my favorite memories of Uncle Neil was from a long time ago. I had come along with Jane, Neil, and David on a trip to Atlanta. Jane was going for business, and she invited me to come along to hang out with David and assist with Neil, whose health had already begun to decline. While there we all went to a Braves game together. Oh man, was I loving it! It was my first MLB experience and we had a blast!Well, the next day of our trip, we had the whole afternoon and evening free. Jane, being the captain of the voyage, asked for entertainment and dinner ideas from the crew. David was pretty young, so I'm sure he probably didn't get a vote. Me, I was the help, so I was happy to just go with the flow. But Neil, on the other hand, he knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted another Braves game, and there wasn't anything that was going to get in his way! Jane could not understand this, we had just gone to a Braves game. But once Neil decided he was going, that was it.
As a side note, I must say I really can't blame Neil. I mean we were right there in Atlanta. And any baseball fan knows that the only thing better than a night at a MLB game is two nights of MLB games! Also, I liked to think Neil was not too sure how many more Braves games he was going to be able to see. So he might as well get in as many as he could.
So we decided that Jane and David would spend some time together, and since Neil couldn't go alone (although he certainly would have if he had to) I was elected to go along - not exactly forced against my will, though. We had nothing but a few dollars in my pocket and a credit card in Neil's. Here we were....a young teenager and a handicapped man with a craving for Braves baseball. I'll never forget the stress of having to interpret the station maps on the Atlanta MARTA train that went right by our hotel. We had to take a bus from a station to the ball field. And while it sounds a little scary to be in such a big city, I remember not being that worried or feeling that scared. It was an adventure! And Neil was leading the way!
We didn't have tickets, of course, so the first thing we did was stop at a ticket booth. Neil had the card and simply passed it through the hole in the glass and said those two magic words "Best available." In other words, he was telling them, I don't care how much it costs, get me the best seats you have! To some of you reading this, you might be wondering how in the world anyone could spend over $100 dollars in baseball tickets, but to Neil, you couldn't put a value on being in that ballpark! He was going in, and he was going to have the best seat he could buy! And boy did we have great seats! In fact, we got to sit about three or four rows up from the seats we bought because Neil was in a wheelchair! So we got to enjoy the legroom and space that the handicap row affords, just behind home plate, one section up.
I could not even begin to tell you who won the game. I saw some of the best players in the world play, but I honestly don't remember who they were. But I will never forget getting a footlong, large Coke, and singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame in the best available seats next to my Uncle Neil who yelled and yelled.
........my mind takes me from those happier days of Neil's life to days recently when Neil couldn't even speak. But he didn't have to, though. His eyes would say it all. He would strain to keep his head up and still and his eyes would light up at the sight of my children when we would come to visit. Every one of us knew that even though on the outside Neil was fading by the day, there was still a deep desire inside that frail body to walk up to a ticket booth with card in hand and ask for the best available!
And now he is still. No more shaking. No more pain. No more endless bowls of applesauce, and certainly no more embarrassing bed baths or bathroom situations. No more of that. Only rest. Only great pleasure in the best available seat right next to Jesus. One thing is for certain, though, I will cherish that memory of my time with Neil, and will be flooded with that memory again when I find myself at Turner Field, yelling at the baseball game with a footlong in one hand and a Coke in the other.
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