Off To The Big Meeting In The Sky

So I sent the following note to the wife of my buddy who passed suddenly. Hope it helps somehow.

I am, like so many others who loved S, sitting here this morning with a heavy heart.  What a kind, generous man, that big, goofy smile always plastered across his face.  

I pride myself on needling my friends just to get under their skin but I never was able to get under S’s skin, not once, which really got under my skin, a source of never-ending glee for him. For a while after I moved I tried reaching him on the phone which always resulted in a text reply instead of a return call.  Mildly miffed, I finally challenged him on this, protesting that a response in kind was called for.  He laughed a lot, and continued to text back, shuddering in mock horror at the thought of actually “talking to someone.”  Finally, I got it - not a phone guy.  But S, of all of my Old City friends, was always the one who, hearing that I was in town, would show up at whatever meeting I attended.  The last time I saw him was at my father’s funeral last year, one of just a couple of friends who showed up,.

I think a lot about the 3 or 4 times that I stayed with you two when I was still coming home to finish up some work obligations.  Taking walks on the trails he was making in the woods, sharing great meals, rolling my eyes as S explained in detail who was the current favorite to win on American Idol, and why.  Or having him try to explain some weird Galilean theory he was trying to work out- I think I’m a pretty smart guy but I had no idea what he was talking about half the time.  Thank you for those memories.

I’m not really a New Age devotee but I wanted to share some New Age stuff with you.  There’s a lot of information dating back a long time about the symbolism found in birds.  When my mother died a few years back a couple of doves started to sit on top of our chimney here in SoCal and sing - I swear it sounded like they had an amplified bullhorn up there.  After dad died - he had binoculars and a bird book sitting next to his easy chair that he used to track the wildlife outside his retirement home - I took out his hummingbird feeder and found some old sugar water.  Even though it was very early spring - too early for the hummingbirds - and they’re famously persnickety about old food, it wasn’t but a couple of minutes before one showed up, and he was a visitor until I had the apartment closed up.  My research showed that doves are associated with peace and hummingbirds with faithfulness - I couldn’t have come up with a better one word summary for my folks.

On one of my trips S pointed out this big owl that sat in the tree on the left side of your driveway.  Do you remember that owl?  That dude didn’t budge if you approached him, sitting there and blinking slowly.  I loved that owl.  It really gave me a thrill to see him every time I pulled down your driveway.

Anyway, owls are associated with magic and silent wisdom.   Doesn’t that seem perfect for S?  I think that big owl was a messenger or a symbol or something.  Keep your eyes peeled - I wouldn’t be surprised to see him show up again.

With much love and greater sadness,

Seaweed