A Dark Night
11/07/2004 02:06 a.m.

A family is a group of people brought together through love, honor, dignity, sickness, health, fortune and misfortune, greatness of joys of live, sorrow by the passing. Family sticks together through good times and in bad to cherish all that we had, have and will have for generations. A fight in the family is nothing until it really hits you clear in the face what life really means, and how much someone really means to you.

Tonight is a sad night to bring to my family. A night which was unexpected and a most drastic change in the lives of each of my family members.

Tonight I write in memory of my uncle. A man of power and great dignity. Always a person to talk to, who'd listen and who, no matter how much of a strange cookie he was, we were just as equally strange as him. He was an outstanding man who cared about everything he did. Let me stay at his house on a few occasions. He was always open to just be himself and live no matter what lay ahead of him.

I remember this one time, he brought his son and I down to the lake to sleep out in tents because the next morning was the first official fishing day of the year. It was so cold that night that I just couldn't make it through the night sleeping. We sat up for a while and talked but I ended up going up to the house because I was so cold. I joined him the next day. But the experience was interesting.

He picked me up from my apt one day to bring me back to the valley for my dad's wedding. He said to me that he was proud of what I've done in my life. He said to me that decisions in life are hard but you don't give up. He said..."I know I'm not supposed to eat this steak and cheese sub, but I'm going to anyway." Always a guy of comic relief. He told me that day that no matter what you face in your life, cherish it all because you never know when tomorrow will be your last day.

I'll never forget him. He's been an inspiration to the family. And even though my family may not see eye to eye with my decisions in life, or my expectations that I want to face, I know that they will always be my family and that I will always care for them just as much as they do to me.

Thank you for being there for me. Thank you for everything. May you rest yourself now and fly away to the heavens. Rest in peace.