My cousin Michael C.

When I was a kid, I spent every summer in Texas, about 5 weeks with my fathers parents on their farm, and 5 weeks with my mothers parents on their slightly larger farm 10 miles away. As my fathers parents became quite elderly, I spent more and more time with my Mimi and Papa, my maternal grandparents. Mostly it was just the four of us: my grandparents, my taciturn bachelor uncle 'Sonny' and myself, plus about 100 beef cattle, plus dogs, turkeys, guinea fowl, my half-blind quarter-horse mare Ginger, and lots of watermelon. I read and played alone, accompanied Papa on his rounds, or helped Mimi make mustang grape preserves.

But some days Mimi's niece Sue would bring her sons, Michael, Patric, and David to visit their city cousin and play. Although I was closest to Patric in age, and so played with him more than Michael or David, whenever there was any sort of combative game (like hoses and water pistols), David and Patric would gang up. Michael took my side, whether because as the oldest he was used to being opposed to his younger brothers, or because his innate sense of fairness wouldn't allow him to see me completely outgunned, I really don't know. I just know that many times it was me and Michael against Pat and David. I never really stood a chance otherwise. Whether it was their rowdy athleticism or sharp humor I was totally outclassed.

But I do remember fielding questions from them, like what was it like riding in an airplane (like a bus but faster). Then I realized just how different my life was from theirs.

In high school, Michael started dating Dawn, a tall sassy blond Texas girl. After college, they got married. His wonderful sense of fairness was probably a boon in his stellar career with Wal-Mart, eventually leading to him being made General Manager for a Super Wal-Mart in San Antonio. He and Dawn used the tract of farmland given by his grandmother (my Mimi's sister) to build a large and beautiful 4 bedroom home, where they lived with their three daughters. We visited last summer, the first time I saw their house, and while Arabella played with Sarah and Elizabeth, the younger two of his girls, we visited a little while.

I enjoyed being around him, but I don't think Michael and I had much in common. Had we not been cousins I think we would have had little to share at all. But we talked business and seasons, the wet year Texas was having. Then he took to girls out on his little garden truck, an ATV crossed with a jeep. After that ride, Arabella was grinning from ear to ear.

Sabine was born the end of last September, and within two weeks I got the news (from his grandmother to mine to my mother to me) that he had cancer, in the form of multiple tumors on his pancreas and liver. He started aggressive treatments, but last week, Michael and Dawn decided to suspend treatments and let him spend his remaining time with his daughters. He was on morphine to hep with the pain, but even that was not always helping. Yesterday, not 8 months after being diagnosed with cancer, Michael died at home. he was 41.

In my mind he will always be the sturdy, strong, protective older cousin who looked out for his younger, smaller, less athletic cousin. He will always be the proud husband and daddy, taking care of his girls. He will always be with us in our hearts.