On January 12, I and many others said goodbye to Mr. Clarence Richards. Everyone who knew this man spoke of him with fondness.

He was a sweet, gentle and jovial man and it was not a cliche to say to know him was to love him.

At his funeral service they spoke often of his love and devotion to Peanut, his little Chihuahua. I will always be grateful that in some small way the Lord saw fit that I could help bring joy to the remaining few years of Clarences life.

Peanut and Clarence are both in loving homes; Peanut is with his youngest son, Phillip, and Clarence is with his dear wife, Elma, in the loving presence of our Lord.

I believe with God all things are possible and I know that one day Peanut will run and jump into Clarences arms. Ill bet there will even be bacon bits available for his little girl.

The Bulletin has been kind enough to reprint his story so that I may once again share this wonderful man and little Peanut with all of you.

Editors Note: The following story about Clarence Richards was first published on May 14, 2008.

The best medicine

In January of 2007, my good friend Clarence lost his wife of 52 years. He is a man of constant good cheer and a smile on his face is as normal as breathing. The loss of his dear wife was devastating to him and understandably so, but Clarence never lost his pleasant demeanor, though there was an emptiness in his voice and in his eyes that was palatable.

Clarence lives with diabetes and a few of the ill effects the disease brings about, but is by no means frail, on the contrary hes a burly man.

A few months after his wife passed on, he and I were sitting at T.J.s having breakfast and I brought up the subject of a pet for him. To his credit, he was more than open to the idea. I told him that there was one in particular I had in mind, but he must act fast because shell be adopted right away.

The very next day we met at the Humane Society and Clarence met Peanut, a six-month-old Chihuahua. Once again you may think that this is a mismatch, but not so. Peanut leapt around in her cage as if to say, let me at him, this man is the reason I was born.

Clarence looked up at me with hope in his eyes and said, almost in a whisper, can I have him Lennie?

Yes you can, Clarence, I replied. I took her out of the cage and placed her in his arms. If you were writing a Hollywood movie, at this time the violins would be playing; it was beautiful.

Fast forward one year later where a group of men meet each morning bright and early for breakfast and discuss a myriad of subjects. Ah, but when Clarence is about, the subject is always Peanut. You see, for him, the rest of the world is secondary. Peanut is his world and Im sure the same holds true for her in reverse. Now Im sure my good friend has every reason to stay healthy and look forward to each new day. After all, who would take care of Peanut?

Thanks for listening.