Today I said goodbye to Richard. I picked out a beautiful lei, a mix of fragrant, colorful flowers, and I drove to Kaena Point on the North Shore of Oahu. I made my way down the dunes and over the rough rocks and tossed Richard's lei towards the water. It stuck on the sharp a'a lava rocks partway down, and I somehow thought it fitting that his lei, like the man it represented, would cling for a few moments to a world full of beauty and pain. Richard managed to squeeze a few extra precious moments out of his life, and so did his lei.
Before I sent the flowers down to the water, I took a moment to think of the thoughtful, caring, vibrant man I knew. I thought of the lives he had touched, and of the stories he had told. I thought of the love he had given, and of the love he had received. I thought of all of this, and then I allowed the flowers to slip from my grasp, fragile and free, past the earth, past the water, and into whatever might be next.
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This song played on the radio as I drove home tonight. I smiled, thinking of Richard, thankful that his pain has been transcended by his beauty.
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I saw you in my dream
We were walking hand in hand
On the white sandy beach of Hawaii
We were playing in the sun
We were having so much fun
On the white sandy beach of Hawaii
The sound of the ocean soothes my restless soul
The sound of the ocean rocks me all night long
Those hot, long summer days
Laying there in the sun
On the white sandy beach of Hawaii
The sound of the ocean soothes my restless soul
The sound of the ocean rocks me all night long
Oh last night in my dream I saw your face again
We were there in the sun
On the white sandy beach of Hawaii
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
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