Remembering Brother Harold

 BROTHER HAROLD, my beloved friend, died nearly two weeks ago, on my sixty sixth birthday, which warmed me a bit. He was ninety eight. Several years ago when I retired and started going to the senior center  brother Harold was the first friend I made. He was the one person who greeted me the most warmly, unconditionally and showed an interest in me. A retired Baptist minister, he led the prayer before lunch every day. We became good friends, fast. One day I boldly asked him whether I could lead the prayer for one day, and he told me to ask the Director. I asked the director, and she told me to ask him. I know when I licked. He moved into an assisted living facility about four years ago, and enjoyed life there, and even had a girlfriend. During the spring of 2016 we developed a routine in which I would go to his house every Sunday night with a frozen pizza, and we would cook the pizza and watch a national Geographic series about the great religious traditions of the world. Every episode was excellent, and highlighted the cultural and artistic richness of several of the great religious traditions of the world. The pizza usually was ready to pull out of the oven and eat during the show, and when we had finished eating it, brother Harold was free to remove his dentures and set them on his lap, which he unabashedly did.During his long career he had pastored several different churches and congregations, and I once  asked what it was like to attend a church service conducted by his replacement. He simply said that when he left- he left. Its easy to understand why: How weird would it be to resign from a church, only to return the next Sunday ans listen to your replacement, leading your congregation?  It might be hard not to become negative and critical of the new minister. Brother Harold was open minded, intelligent, intellectual, always wanting to learn more. He loved science and truth, which I still believe he valued more than religious dogma. He seemed secure enough in his religious faith, and well enough educated, that he had no need to reject scientific realities to satisfy any emotional need for fake cognitive consistency. Not your typical hard shell southern Baptist. Enlightened souls see no conflict between science and religion. As they learn science, they adjust their faith accordingly. He grew up up north, of dutch ancestry, and liked to quip 'If you aint Dutch, you aint much!" I knew this day would come, and I will greatly  miss Brother Harold, as long as I live. But maybe I haven't really lost him. maybe I'll see him again, in a better place. We talked a lot about such fundamental questions, and were both open to - anything, as long as it is the truth.