...especially difficult when it is for the very last time. Today, many of us did that, we said goodbye to Mike T. So too did many a family say goodbye to a beloved husband, father, brother, uncle... Many of us, myself included, shed some tears - it was a rough one. We will miss Mike a lot; the truth be told, I miss him already. I take some solace in the fact that his sendoff was truly a heart lifting one, probably well over 250 people at the church and as many as 150, or more, at the cemetery. The amount of support for his family, from his coworkers, was truly humbling and astonishing. He was that kind of a guy, he made his mark on others and it was a good one that will probably prove to be long lasting.
Me, I am still finding it hard to believe he is gone and I suppose that many others who knew him feel likewise. I know that his family feels that way even more so; how could they not. The thing is though, even though he may be gone, he still lives on - I do not doubt it. The priest who said the mass told us about eternal life in Heaven. He also took it a step in another direction and reminded Mike's children of the importance of family because Mike lives on in them forever as long as they pass on his loving ways to their children and so on.
I am not much of a religious guy. I believe in a higher power, a supreme being, but not in any conventional church going manner. I also believe in eternal life of a sort. I take solace in a song, one I've posted here before. I need to post it again if for no other reason than it helps me remember that each time I see a single drop of rain I should think of Mike and others I have known who are gone from this world as we knew them. The song, in their absence, makes me think of those whom we may think are not with us any longer. Truth is they may be there right next to us. They are with us everywhere, all the time, with the song playing or not. That is, if we just care to see them, even in a single drop of rain. They'll be back again and again and again.
Happy trails my friend, until we meet again.
All the best,
Glenn B
