Today, I sat in a church in my old “neck of the woods” with people whom I remember being so much younger. I went to the first of my childhood friend’s parent’s funeral (wow, that was a mouthful). It affected me more than I thought it would since I haven’t seen Walt in nearly 30 years. As I sat there singing the songs and listening to the Pastor speak, all I could focus on was the memories that flooded back to me. Walt always seemed like a giant of a man to me and just a little bit scary. I loved him, none the less! He was a part of my childhood and part of what made me who I am today.

The faces I saw today were different…older. Although the years have aged us all, I felt a feeling I hadn’t felt in some time. The feeling of being HOME. When I was growing up, we lived on a street that had a lot of kids the same ages as me and my brothers. We didn’t spend much time in front of the tv. We played outside and we played with the entire neighborhood of kids! We were one big family. As kids, we’d confide in each other about everything, was a part of each other’s family, and always looked out for each other. As we grew up, we went our separate ways. It was through our parents that we’d keep up with each other and know who was married, who was having babies and what each of us had done with our lives. For a couple of hours, I was really home again.

It was unfortunate that the Pastor doing the service today didn’t know Walt – he said so himself. If he had, he would have been able to tell the guests just what a wonderful guy he was, how much he loved hunting and fishing and how important his family was to him.  He could have retold stories about the good old days and how much fun our neighborhood used to have. Walt would have done anything for anyone! You know what…I didn’t need a Pastor to tell me these things, I already knew – firsthand. Although I hadn’t seen you in at least 30 years, Walt, I’ll miss you!