• I remember...
    The warm and sunny summer days.
    Going to his house to play
    And hearing the bees in the fort.
    Jumping like a frog from rock to rock,
    Disobeying my parents telling me
    To, "Get out of his rock bed!"
    And him reassuring them that it was okay.

    I remember...
    Hearing a chugga-chugga down the road,
    Looking up, and seeing his big, red truck
    Coming down the road for a visit.
    Smelling dead leaves and hearing city trucks.
    I would always hope to see him there
    And smile when I did.

    I remember...
    Hearing the words that started it all.
    "He has Pancreatic Cancer." my parents said.
    The feeling of my heart dropping
    Like it just gained ten pounds,
    And the feeling of knowing.
    Knowing such a kind heart and hero to many,
    Was nearing death.
    Knowing the disease is nearly incurable,
    And knowing there is nothing you can do to save him.

    I remember...
    Watching as his skin and eyes yellowed,
    The nose-burning smell of rubbing alcohol in the hospital,
    And the pain he tried to hide
    Behind his rapidly shrinking smile.
    The big dipper to the north
    In the wide open, starry night
    Before his death.

    November 9th, 2004
    The night I could not say "Goodbye."
    The night he left forever.
    My parents had warned me it was likely to be that night.
    I could not bring myself to listen.
    They called to tell me to, “Go to bed.”
    But I was longing to know what had happened.
    They said, "We'll talk tomorrow."
    And simply by the way that they had said it,
    That's when I knew the truth...
    My hero, and Uncle Brian, had died.