The old man at the cemetery

There are times in your life when things you experience or people you see have a profound affect on you. I told my sister a couple of months ago about an old man that I see sitting by a graveside and it is such a sad sight that it makes me want to cry.
Now, this is not my normal path home, only when I need to stop by the grocery store do I see him. But 9 times out of 10, he is there. At first, I thought "how sweet" and then I noticed that he is not only there but had brought his own lawn chair to sit in. Somedays he would be packing up his chair and somedays I would just see him sitting. Now, in my current emotional state, being very hormonal and still getting my thyroid levels right- I get teary-eyed seeing him there. I drive by thinking, oh- that must be his wifes grave and he must have really loved her and now misses her deeply. So, I spend the rest of the drive home thinking of this old man and worrying about how he is doing.
That brings me to yesterday evening. I taught my night class until 7 and offered to give one of my students a ride home to Vancleave. So once again I am passing the cemetery, later than usual and there he sits. Needless to say, something made me turn around and go the cemetery. I introduced myself and told him that I have seen him sitting here on many days and I thought that he was visiting someone he really loved. He told me that he and his wife were married for 53 years before she died and that he had never meet another couple that loved each other as much as he and his wife had loved each other. Of course that brought tears to my eyes and we continued to talk. I told him about myself and he told me that he was 78 years old and had worked at the shipyard. He has 4 kids and that includes one set of twins, a boy and a girl. The boy lives in Jackson and the girl at home with him-- they are 51 years old!! His son is the only one that ever married. Of course, the one lives with him and has all her life. The other 2 girls are living is Ocean Springs.
After a few tears, some very touching moments and a couple of hugs, I left feeling better about the old man in the cemetery, knowing that he has a broken heart but he will be okay.