Every second Saturday in October, my town has a festival to honor its heritage and its community. We start with a pancake breakfast, then a parade, and finally, a festival in the park with music, crafts, food, and more. Hit or Missus actually has a scene set in the midst of the merriment.
When Freezer Burn first came out, I had an author booth at the festival. I skipped last year, because my next book hadn't quite hit the shelves yet, but I was really looking forward to this year, when I would have three (3) THREE books to sell!
Enter Life.
We have dear friends, a large extended family whom we see every Christmas and every Easter. When we can get together in between, it's the icing on the cake. They hosted our wedding reception. We've seen them through all their children's marriages, and their grandchildren.
One of their sons was found in his apartment this week, dead. He was, I believe, in his early thirties. No one knows anything about anything. There was, of course, an autopsy.
This is a horror. JJ was too young, and too lively, and too funny and too everything to suddenly be taken away from his family and friends. You are not supposed to outlive your children. It's not natural.
The memorial service for our friend is, of course, tomorrow. The second Saturday of October, when I'm supposed to be at my booth.
So, I ripped myself inside out trying to figure out what to do. The festival is from 10 to 6. The service is at 11 a.m. in Temecula, which is about 60 miles away. Gaaaa-AAAAHHHH.
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| Marcus |
I can live with this, and honor my friend, JJ. When I was agonizing about this, someone asked, what would JJ want me to do? Frankly, he'd want me to turn up the music and hit the dance floor. JJ was that kind of guy.
P.S. If you're at the Heritage Festival tomorrow, could you stop by and say hello to Marcus? I don't want him to be lonely. Maybe feed him? Thanks.
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