Diane L. Drain, wife, mother, sister, aunt, mentor, guide, teacher, confidant, friend, supporter, and loves to give hugs.
DIANE’S EPITAPH:
(If you know me, you know I always plan ahead. So – please read this at my funeral.)
When I die, give what’s left of me away to children and old men that wait to die.
And if you need to cry, cry for your brother or sister who walk the street beside you.
And when you need me, put your arms around anyone and give them what you need to give to me.
I want to leave you something, something better than words or sounds.
Look for me in the people I’ve known or loved.
And if you cannot give me away, at least let me live in your eyes and not your mind.
You can love me most by letting hands touch hands, by letting bodies touch bodies, and by letting go of children that need to be free.
Love doesn’t die, people do. So, when all that’s left of me is love, give me away.
LIFE TIPS AND HUMOR
(THIS IS MY GIFT TO YOU BECAUSE EVERYONE NEEDS HUMOR IN THEIR LIFE)
My wish for you is every day to have a little humor in your life. Humor eases the pain, cools tempers and relaxes the soul. Diane L. Drain
Flora Frye, a fierce community activist
A Note from Diane regarding her grandmother – Flora Frye.
Grandma Frye was part of our family’s institutional foundation committed to obtaining a quality education. She was instrumental in helping me with the financial challenge of completing law school. Her never-ending search for self-education was evidenced by the Master’s degree she received in 1982 from NAU, at the young age of 75.
The following humor and life lessons is my way of honoring and remembering my grandmother.
Life lessons from a surprising source.
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.
She said, “Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you may!” and she gave me a giant squeeze. “Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids…..” “No seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I’ll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, “I’m sorry I’m so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I’ll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know.”
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began. “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.
- You have to laugh and find humor every day.
- You’ve got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
- Anybody can grow older. That doesn’t take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.
- Have no regrets. The elderly usually don’t have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do.
She concluded her speech by courageously singing “The Rose.” She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year’s end, Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation, Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possibly be.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL. We make a Living by what we get. We make a Life by what we give. We have many opportunities for safe landings, but few for a calm passage.
Why I am proud to be called a cowboy – note from Diane L. Drain
A friend just sent this to me after calling me a “cowboy”. I was flattered.
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They were never looking for trouble.
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But when trouble came, they faced it with courage.
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They were always on the side of right.
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They defended good people against bad people.
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They had high morals.
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They had good manners.
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They were honest.
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They spoke their minds and they spoke the truth, regardless of what people thought or “political correctness,” which no one had ever heard of back then.
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They were a beacon of integrity in the wild, wild West.
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They were respected. When they walked into a saloon, (where they usually drank only sarsaparilla), the place became quiet, and the bad guys kept their distance.
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If in a gunfight, they could outdraw anyone. If in a fist fight, they could beat up anyone.
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They always won. They always got their man. In victory, they rode off into the sunset.
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For those readers who would like to know more about Diane – here are some of her favorite principles:
- Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
- To handle yourself, use your head. To handle others, use your heart.
- God gives every bird it’s food, but He does not throw it into its nest.
- Do unto others as you would have them to unto your mother (assuming you like your mother, it not, then your grandmother).