Memorial Service

This morning at 7 a.m. I left Fort Worth for Austin to attend the memorial service held for my maternal grandmother and uncle.  Quite a few people showed up, at least a lot more than I expected.  At first I was under the impression the time at the cemetery would be for family only.  Then I began hearing the reminiscing of friends of the deceased and realized they were, in a sense, family too.  Another uncle officiated the service and called on me to share my thoughts.  Of course I immediately began crying like a baby and barely made it through what I had to say.  Hopefully what I said made sense and captured the essence of my heart in regard to those whose life we had gathered to honor and celebrate.  One of the main points I wanted to share was this stood as a passing of the guard, a passing of the torch, from one generation to another.  The old vanguard leaving to faithful adherence by their progeny the transference of old-world values invested in our lives.  How I (we) live from here on out determines whether or not their mentoring was a success.  Yes the time was bittersweet in that it brought together family and friends, but the reality remains this world has lost two of the giants in the land...people who truly modeled such attributes as character, integrity, love, and compassion or selfless giving of themselves.  Am I ready and able to step in to the vacuum created by their translation from this world to the next?  We shall see.


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