A Toast to Richard

The reason why I was at Fairview Cemetery yesterday was that I learned recently that an old friend and onetime roommate from my college days had passed away about five years ago. Certainly I hadn't been in touch with Lesa for decades, and whenever I did run into her it was always by happenstance. Lesa had many struggles and her life was not easy, and at times it was challenging being her friend, but that doesn't mean I'm not saddened by her passing. In fact, since hearing of her death I've really been dwelling on Lesa and my old memories of her.

True to form, Lesa did not make it easy to pay my respects. Our mutual friend Angie and I wandered around the cemetery for a good hour before we finally located her. We were pretty focused on the search, but early on in the process I did feel like this grave deserved a picture. This little bottle of wine obviously had some personal meaning to the deceased and his loved ones.

As it turned out, when we finally found Lesa's grave it was only a few feet away from this one. A lady in a red truck pulled up and parked near us as we were homing in on the right grave. Coincidentally she walked straight to this one, brushed off the gravestone, then knelt down and silently spent a little time just hanging out. She looked to be about my age and my guess is that she was this man's daughter. I was curious about him, so I looked up his obituary. You can read about him HERE. He sounds like he was truly an interesting guy who served his country, led a good long life and was loved by many.