I had just accepted a job in Montana and was driving across the country to start work. The route I'd taken was going to take me through Grand Junction. I called up Uncle Mike and asked if he'd be alright with me staying the night with him, he was more than happy to have me over. That evening when I arrived we threw some pork chops on the grill and had a few drinks. We spent the better part of the evening swapping stories, laughing, and reminiscing about memories with family. To this day that is still one of the best evenings I have ever experienced. Thank you Uncle Mike for the memories.
-Jonathan

In 1973 or so, when I was a little boy of four, Uncle Mike was taking me somewhere at night in a car. Child seats weren't a thing then, so I was standing next to him on the bench seat of the car. I had my arm around his shoulder and I was leaning on him. The yellow lines of the highway were whipping by beneath us, vip-vip-vip.

My uncle shifted in his seat. "Mikey," he said, "take the wheel for second, would you?"

He put my hand on the steering wheel and showed me how to hold it steady. The yellow lines of the highway whipped by. He took his hands off the wheel to adjust the rearview mirror so he could see himself, then took a comb from his back pocket. I held the wheel steady and watched him in the rearview mirror as he combed his hair. Vip-vip-vip sped the highway lines beneath the car.

The vip-vip-vip turned to a rumble as I let the car drift toward the side of the highway. "Hold it steady there, Mikey," he said. I had been watching him comb his hair, not the road. He helped me aim the speeding car back to the center of the lane -- vip-vip-vip -- then went back to combing.

I remember how dark it was everywhere in the world except for the headlights pouring out onto the highway. I remember how the yellow lines shot out of nowhere straight toward the car and how they flickered vip-vip-vip beneath us as we drove along. I saw my Uncle's eyes watching me watch him comb his hair in the rearview mirror, and felt the speed of the car over the highway as a vibration through the steering wheel in my little hand. It felt like my Uncle and I were alone in the world, alone together in all that darkness, and I knew that he trusted me to take care of something important while he fixed his hair. Vip-vip-vip went the highway.

When he finished, he took back the wheel. I put my arm around his shoulder again, leaned against him, and watched the highway lines come out of the night -- vip-vip-vip -- to speed beneath the car.

Loved My cousin Michael! He will be missed. Such a special man. Love Connie 

Funeral Service

Interment with Military Honors

Callahan-Edfast Mortuary & Crematory

Michael Garner

immediate need

Death has occurred or is near

plan ahead

Pre-plan a funeral or cremation

Plan a Funeral or Cremation Default Desktop

Find Obituaries and Services

Send Flowers

sympathy and etiquette

grief library

celebrations of life

What to Say When Someone Dies

Show Your Support

Sympathy and Grief

obituary

services

memories

Obit Detail

In the care of

share to facebook

share by email

share link

Share Obituary

ideas and resources

Sympathy and Grief Mobile

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Michael Leroy Garner

1 septembre 1948 – 6 novembre 2022

Callahan-Edfast Mortuary & Crematory

Montrez votre soutien

Envoyez Vos
Condoléances

Partager
L'avis De Décès

Obtenir les mises à jour

Prestations de Service

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Michael Leroy Garner

1 septembre 1948 – 6 novembre 2022

Callahan-Edfast Mortuary & Crematory

Montrez votre soutien

Envoyez VosCondoléances

PartagerL'avis De Décès

Obtenir les mises à jour

Prestations de Service

Envoyez Vos
Condoléances

Partager
L'avis De Décès