It was like a really big family dinner in Burton’s living room.
Eighty-five people turned out to give love and support to Darwin and Wanda Buerge on Saturday, February 17 in the Burton Hall. Darwin is fighting cancer. We all turned out to help with the battle.
It was a benefit, so donations were made at the door to help pay for the expenses involved when that darned disease changes your life and makes you feel like you just want to wake up from a bad dream.
Darwin’s friends brought a nice big easy chair so that he could sit comfortably, eat dinner and visit with his family and community of friends that really care about him. It’s not just the patient that needs a lot of TLC. Wanda, his wife and their kids Brandon, Devin and Amanda could use some hugs and encouragement in this scary time too.
To say that there was a lot of great food would be an understatement of delicious proportions. There were enough delectable dishes for three times the crowd. Turkeys, hams, fresh made rolls and a variety of other dishes as well as a huge table of deserts were brought by the folks who came to cheer them up and it sure seemed to work.
After all the dishes were done, leftovers parcelled out (there was enough for the 408th squadron), and the hall put back to rights, a circle of chairs formed. Darwin, mostly family and some of us locals sat and talked a laughed a lot. A circle of people telling stories about days in the past, and what’s going on with the Survivor cast, and anything else to
lighten the load for a while, is healing and normal. That’s what friends are for.
Darwin and Wanda are now waiting to see if he qualifies for stem-cell therapy, so pray or keep your fingers crossed, or whatever you do to send good, healing thoughts their way.
Contributed by Suzanne Story