So...thoughts?

Beautiful, DC. Hold on, I've got to wipe my eyes. Somber, but with a little of Perry's humor tossed in. A great look back on a great man's life. He'll be sorely missed. I loved all the questions Perry asked Clark. Very sad, but very well done.

Thank you, Virginia. So glad that you seemed to enjoy it, despite it's bleak tone. I've had the idea to write this one for a while now. And finally, the other night my muse refused to allow me to stall on it any longer. Thanks for the kind words.

(opens several boxes of tissues, and leaves them scattered about for the gentle readers)

Wow. Just wow. It totally captures what goes through ones mind when saying goodbye to a loved one. Thank you for that story.

In the short space since the first of the year I have attended 8 funerals. I don't remember when I have ever had so many funerals, even when I was a preacher's wife. Vicki, you captured the feeling of loss, the empty void left by someone leaving too soon, but also the wonderous memories of all the lifetime of knowing and loving someone. For someone as young as you to realize that death is loss of life but not loss of loving and to be able to express it like you did makes me smile. What a tribute to anyone! To be able to sum up a life and leave the reader smiling in a sad time is a gift.

Thanks!
Pat

Thank you for the lovely feedback, Lara.

Vicki,

Exceptionally well done.

Very poignant.

I may have to get your opinion on a few passages I have been working on for volume 4.

Pat, thank you so much.

Sounds like you've had a tough start to the year, and I'm sorry that you've had to attend so many funerals. I'll admit to cheating a *tiny* bit when I wrote this. I just sort of draw from my own experiences. My dad's mom passed in 2005 from pancreatic cancer. It was 10 days from her admission into the hospital, getting a diagnosis, and the time that she passed away. Up until then she'd been healthy as a horse. And the sitting vigil in the hospital when Perry goes critical was taken from my mom and sister doing the same thing when my mom's mom passed in 2009. (I wasn't there, but they were).

All things considered, this story wrote itself over only two or three days. It was pretty easy for me to slip inside of Clark's head and feel his pain, in watching a loved one leave.

I'm glad that it left you smiling at the end. I think, even when we are at our saddest in saying goodbye, there is always a part of us that can smile even then when we think about the person.

Thanks again for the feedback, and I hope to see you around IRC soon.

Thank you so much, Ken.

Nicely done! Even though it's sad to lose someone loved (and even we FoLCs love Perry, don't we?), I was happy at the thought that Perry had had a long and fulfilling life And I liked how Lois showed herself the strong one at the funeral. Good story, with nice touches everywhere.

Beautifully done. Laura

The measure of a person's life can sometimes be in the qualities and strengths of their friends. In this fic we see these things shine brightly in Clark Kent as he says good-bye and than mourns the passing of his friend.

As far as I am concerned, this is the best story you have written to date.

Battle on indeed...

Thank you, Anna. Yep, Perry is one lovable guy. L&C had the best portrayal of Perry, at least, my favorite one, thanks to the way that Lane Smith played him and the way that the character was written. Glad you liked Lois as the strong one.

Thank you very much, Laura!

Wow, that's quite the compliment, Morgana! It's been a long, time time since I've sat down with the intention of writing a tear-jerker, so I'm really glad that this worked so well for everyone. I appreciate your feedback very much!

A Beautiful Story and well written.

It is a beautiful tribute to the Chief.


Looking forward to reading more stories.

Stuart.

Thank you very much, Stuart! I appreciate the kind feedback.

Blub.

<hugs Io, offers her a tissue>

Wow. So, so, so sad. And really really good and moving.

This line really had me in tears.
So eloquent and excellent. Thank you for this wonderfully sad piece. Great job.

Thanks so very much, Mouse. I'm glad that you liked it. (I almost made *myself* cry with that excerpt that you pointed out, btw.)