My daughter, Heather called me today with a sad story. My 7 year old grandson, Luca was drawing a picture last night and as he did so he was crying. Heather heard him and went over to see what was going on. It depicted Luca and his Uncle Daniel standing side my side, each with a broken heart over their heads. Another panel showed a grave with Luca standing at its foot. Heather asked Luca about his picture. He replied that he really misses his Uncle Daniel and wishes he was still here. Hearing this broke my heart. This is not the first time Luca or his little brother, Logan has, out of the blue mentioned Daniel and his death. Each time they do, it again brings the pain of this event to the surface. While I am sad for myself, my heart aches for these little guys who loved him so much.


Folks, if you ever consider taking your own life, please think again and again and again. Think of how detrimental your death will be to your family and friends. Think about the mess you will leave behind regarding your possessions, obligations and everything else. But think most of all about how important you are to someone else. For some, like Daniel, this will be many as evidenced by the hundreds that came to his memorial service. Or, it may be only a few, but we ALL have someone in our lives who loves us whether it is a spouse, sibling, parent or friend.

Eventually, Luca will move on and his memory of Uncle Daniel will fade as will the pain he is experiencing right now. But for now he is hurting and that is such a sad thing. And it could have been avoided had Daniel taken into consideration the future ramifications of his rash act.

Luca helps Uncle Daniel sight in his pellet gun.

Comments

mouse said…
i miss him. keep crying today for no reason really. Its just... wrong to have to be in this spot.
December 15, 2012 at 3:23 PM
Anonymous said…
HI STAN,

I'M SO HEART BROKEN FOR ALL OF THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I COULDN'T BE THERE MYSELF FOR HIS SERVICES.

I'M NOT SURE IF LUCA WILL FORGET HIM, IN TIME THINGS WILL GET A BIT BETTER FOR ALL.

I KNOW SOME OF MY WEAPONS I THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN CLEARED OUT AT A RANGE EVEN THE RANGE MASTER THOUGHT IT WAS CLEAR. IT WASN'T ANOTHER ROUND INSIDE,THERE WAS I'VE GOTTEN INTO THE HABBIT OF OVER SHOOTING MY CLIP OR ROUNDS AT LEAST A COUPLE OF TIMES FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW. I FEEL AS THOUGH SOMETHING LIKE THAT MAY HAVE TAKEN PLACE, NOT SEEING A ROUND IN THE WEAPON AND IT WAS THERE. I CAN ONLY ADD TO THIS BEING AN ACCIDENT. HOWEVER, THIS IS A BIG LOSS TO ALL THAT KNEW HIM. YES, I KNOW THIS BEING THE 1ST CHRISTMAS WITHOUT HIM IS GOING TO BE VERY HARD FOR ALL OF THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS. THE CHILDREN DID LOVE HIM AND WILL MISS THEIR UNCLE. YOU AND LINDA AND ALL FAMILY WILL MISS HIM EVERYDAY NOT JUST IN THIS CHRISTMAS. YOUR FAITH HAS TO GET YOU ALL THROUGH THESE RUFF DAY'S TO COME.
I PRAY THAT YOU CAN KEEP HIS LOVE THAT HE SHOWED TO ALL OF YOU, BEFORE, HIS LAST DAY OF BEING HERE WITH YOU AND THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

I TO HAVE MANY LOSSES IN MY FAMILY, I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO LOSE A CHILD EVEN THOUGH I NEVER GOT TO NAME THEM. I KNOW THE FEELING OF LOSS 6 TIMES OVER. I KNOW HOW OLD THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN. MY FAITH HAS KEPT ME GOING ALL THESE YEARS.

I KNOW WE ALL HAVE A PURPOSE HERE HOW EVER LONG THAT MAY BE, WE DON'T KNOW. WHILE WE ARE HERE WE ARE TO HELP AS MUCH AS WE CAN WITH EACH OTHER. SOMETIMES, A SELFLESS OR RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS CAN BRIGHTON OUR DAY ALSO SOMEONE ELSES DAY AS WELL.

KEEPING ALL IN MY PRAYER'S OF HEALING ALWAY'S GOING.
December 22, 2012 at 7:59 PM
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