Memories

And the laughter flowed…easy, bittersweet, joyful, rueful laughter…and the tears were held in check (though sometimes just barely)…as friends gathered and shared memories…memories of our friend.

And I was pleased…and not at all surprised…by the number of people who came to celebrate the fact that he was, for too brief a season, here on this sweet old world with us. I was pleased…and not at all surprised…that his passing on to whatever comes next for our eternal energies could not…would not…go unnoticed.

In the end the most precious treasure any of us could ever possess is the fact that there are hearts and souls that will miss us when we are gone…that there are hearts and souls that will carry memories of us…that will carry us…long after we have ascended from this verdant mortal coil.

And in the end he lingers…in memories, in sacrosanct corners of our hearts…a humble and blessed being here for too brief a season, possessor of the most precious treasure any of us could ever hope to possess. And in the end our lives…those who had the sublime pleasure of knowing him…are much better for having had him in our lives…for having him in our lives still and always.