Opinion: ‘Tommy’ Ingram holds a Royal Heart Straight flush

Charles "Tommy" Ingram, son of Sam and Jenny, was a Dargan boy, with a fine reputation of being loved by a lot of people, yours truly included.

He was for certain one of a kind.

In his casket on Friday, within his folded hands, he was holding a Royal Straight Heart flush, with a bottle of Pepsi nearby in the corner. He loved to play Texas hold ’em poker.

The funeral home was packed.

" Real " Dargan folk from the old days remain friends for life; some others drift away. Tommy had some medical problems and I would drop by with a Benevola apple dumpling now and then.

His sister Matie was usually there, and we would sit on the porch and talk about the good ole days growing up in Dargan. In spite of all his medical issues, he was always a joy to visit, and Matie a steady presence of support.

Sheila and Amy too would drop off some "goodies" as they traveled by his house; for sure he had a sweet tooth.

According to his daughter Shelley, at the funeral, he didn’t excel at fixing "fish sticks" in the microwave when she was young; he used the oven directions to cook them (?), but the mashed potatoes were good she said. Smile.

But by all counts he was a friend to many, and many a friend to him. He was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War.

As young Dargan boys, we often went to a little stream behind the landfill and dammed it up with rocks. Tommy’s younger brother "Gordie" (RIP), built like a minnow, would get in to the knee-deep pool with the other minnows.

" I was country when country wasn’t cool " defined us in our youth.

We kids had a lot of fun in the woods of Dargan; we all were like kin, playing ball and running to and fro. Dargan families were pretty tightknit too.

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Playing cards on weekend nights was a favorite pastime. Tommy even managed to play in the " World Series of Poker " one time in Vegas.

No computers to interfere with one’s progress. Each of us had nicknames. I was Dozer.

Growing up later, Tommy became the " Mafia Boss " and Hooter , (named after a Hoot Owl); and I guess in some corners of his life he looked like both.

According to his son Gordie, who was named after his uncle who died at an early age, he and his sister Shelley lived with their dad.

Growing up in Dargan wasn’t always easy, but you were surrounded by many friends and family who were there.

In the title of this column, one might wonder about that Royal Straight Heart flush positioned in Tommy’s hand in his casket.

From what I can gather, Tommy and Matie made their way up to Atlantic City one night, and Tommy, with his fondness for a good poker game, found himself at a table holding that very hand .

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The betting was intense.

That hand was surely the talk of the town that night, and Tommy’s pockets were weighted down as he left the parlor.

Tommy, too, was an innkeeper of the Mad Dog saloon for a few years, and had more than a few games of chance there as well.

Gordie said his dad was a wise man and always gave good advice. One day he told him " When you grow up, you should become a plumber or mortician. "

Gordie remembers that conversation well but never understood that advice at first.

My wife Sheila and Tommy would always reminisce and laugh too about their school classes, when one day Tommy accidentally upset his desk behind Sheila, like a bomb sound; everyone laughed like crazy !

Tommy and I had the same heart doctor, Dr. Amegashie, a most professional cardiologist, and friend of medicine and the hurting.

Pastor Goetz gave an uplifting service for Tommy and captured the attention of all there. He said he went to visit Tommy recently, and Tom was sincere in his belief that Heaven exists for those who believe; Tommy had been baptized much earlier.

And oh! Gordie did ask his dad later why he should become a plumber or mortician.

His dad replied, because " one always repairs the bathroom and the other always prepares folk for death ."

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"You would never be out of work !" he said.

Tommy for sure has left his pain, suffering, oxygen hose and his many trips to the hospital and nursing home behind him as faded memories.

I extend my Dargan condolences to all his family and friends who were part of his journey.

" Farewell Hooter, see you on the other side! "

Pete Waters is a Sharpsburg resident who writes for The Herald-Mail.

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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Opinion: ‘Tommy’ Ingram holds a Royal Heart Straight flush