the celebration of life for my Grand Uncle Harley Black. We went out to a park in the city near here and had a gathering with his family and friends. It was a little awkward at first. My Mlu was the first of the Blacks to arrive, then my Grand Uncle Hershel Black. Those were the only two of his(Harley’s) 9 siblings that are still alive that could attend. (I think 4 of them are left.) It was nice to be there for Mlu. They seemed to really love Harley. (Well duh! Sarah they are his family!) He had requested no Funeral. He even donated his body to Texas Tech. He fought in a War, the Second one I think. I have met the man twice I think. He seemed really happy and to love life. They released balloons, and while it was a great gesture for the family, sadly all I could think was, “the poor ducks” and an image of a duck trying to swallow one of those balloons entered my head. I got to talk to Hershel for a few seconds before I ran aff with the kids. And for the short time I talked to him we talked about a lot. I even told him I was thinking about joining the Texas National Guard, which was odd. He prophesied to me as well. (I call it that because that is what he called it) He said “Don’t worry about finding a man. When you see him you will know immediately, and he will too.” So it was a good time. Mlu was glad we could go, and so was Harley’s wife. She thanked us. It is good to know that she still cares about Mlu.
Mlu told me about him after B(Harley’s wife) called to let her know about the “party.” She told me stories about when they were younger. I realized while listening to her, just how much different a world we live in. It saddens me to a great degree to know that no one in my generation will know the happiness and the feeling of safety that her generation knew. I hope one day we will all screw our heads back on right.
