As I See It - 01.04.16 - See you later

Saying goodbye seems so final. See you later means you'll see the person at another point in time. And such was the case on Monday, when family and friends gathered at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Ft. Worth for the funeral Mass for Ralph Guereca, Jr. Uncle Ralph is one of my mother's siblings.

The previous evening, family and friends gathered at Mt. Olivet Funeral Home for a rosary and wake. It was in the same room as my dad's rosary.

It had been a long time since I'd been in St. Andrew's. I think the last time I was there was for a wedding. It made think how a church can be a gathering place for good times and bad. It is also the church where my high school junior class had Mass on Ring Day. #memories

Following the Mass, we proceeded to Mt. Olivet Cemetery when many friends and relatives are buried. It brought back memories from my dad's funeral in November 2011. And like my dad, Uncle Ralph was a military veteran. Along with this comes the honor of having a flag draped on the coffin and presented to the family. It's very moving. When the flag was presented, the presenter, on one knee said, "On behalf of the President of the United States and the people of a grateful nation, may I present this flag as a token of appreciation for the honorable and faithful service your loved one rendered this nation."

Following the internment, we took my mom back to the house. I loaded up The Cal Mobile, got The Calvinator and we were on our way back to H-town with a stop in West.

As I See It - 01.03.16 - On the road again

Earlier in the week when I was returning back from Ft. Worth, I received a phone call from sister telling me that one of my uncle's had died. He had been ill for awhile.

The funeral was scheduled for January 4 so...I loaded up The Calvinator and headed back to Ft. Worth on Sunday. The entrance to Westpark Tollway isn't too far from The Crib and even though traffic was probably going to be light, I decided to go ahead and take the Westpark to the Grand Parkway...and we were on our way.

Pic Of The Day - 08.08.15 - See You Later Bill

Often it has been said that only the good die young. It's always sad when someone dies way too soon and such was the case with Bill Barrow.

I met Bill when we were in the Krewe Of Olympus-Texas. It was a person with a big heart and a creative flair.

Bill died in July and on his birthday, a Mardi Gras-esque celebration of his life was held.

There was a very nice write-up about him in the Houston Chronicle. You can read it here.

See You Later Bryan

If you've  been following my recent blog posts, you might remember me making a comment that there was something I need to write about but I wasn't ready to do so.  I've put it off as long as possible but today is the day.  I think I have waited writing this because the reality of the loss of friend hit me hard today when I attended a funeral Mass for him.

A few weeks ago I was at work and was getting ready to call it a day.  It was later than I usually stay.  I was getting ready to turn off my computer and a message appeared via Facebook from Trisha Beissel.  It was a request to call her.  I had met Trisha maybe once or twice.

The message really concerned because I knew that her mother had heart surgery within the past year or so.  I thought it was odd that Trisha was asking me to call her because if something had had happened to her mother, why wasn't Bryan calling me?

When I spoke with Trisha, she told me Bryan had died.  It was news I didn't expect to hear.  In fact, I had to repeat back to her what I thought I had heard her say.  And I was correct, Bryan was dead.

I met Bryan in 1997 at St. Anne Catholic Church here in Houston.  He was a part of a group of guys that would attend the Sunday, 5:00PM Mass.  AttyHou and I made friends with the group and every now and then we would go across the street to Cafe Adobe for fellowship after Mass.

Throughout the years, Bryan and I would find ourselves at the same party or fundraiser.  We did some traveling together which provided us with some great memories.  He became a BeadBoy and hosted some Mardi Gras parties with me and some others.

BeadBoys Party

Bryan had friends around the world.  He traveled the world because of his job and he made friends everywhere he went.

Bryan left Houston and moved to Atlanta.  As time went on, we didn't speak to each as often as we used to when he lived in Houston; it happens.

Sometimes when Bryan would be in Houston for work we would get together for dinner.  On occasion, his mother would join us.  He was the type of person that I could pick up the conversation where we last left off.

He was also the type of person that would do anything for you...within reason.

Our last conversation was early/mid-January.  We reminisced about a trip to Los Angeles and how much fun we had coming back to Houston.  We had a good laugh going down Memory Lane.  I also told him to think about coming to Houston for the Mystery & Fantasy Mardi Gras Party on 2/22/14.  He said he would think about it.

I sent Bryan a text message on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and never heard back from him.  I thought it was a bit odd but I didn't think too much about it when he didn't reply.  Within a week he would be dead.

Bryan was 51 when he died; a year younger than me.

At 1308 Cantina, April 2, 2010

 I was upset to hear the news.  I called his mother and we shared a few tears and laughs over the phone.  Bryan was cremated and due to the big ice/snow storm in Atlanta, there was going to be a delay in the delivery of his ashes.  And so, a Mass was scheduled for today and the reality of Bryan being dead hit me like a train.

When the arrangements were made, Trisha asked if I would say a few words at the service and I agreed.  I wasn't sure what to say and even when Mass started, I still wasn't sure what I would say.  I had a long continuous dream last night about the funeral.  I didn't sleep well.

This morning, I went to Starbucks and jotted down a few bullet points and then it was time to go to the church.

I shared some memories with the congregants.  It was by far one of the hardest things I have had to do.  I told them how we met at a church.  I told them about our last conversation and I'm glad we were able to laugh.  I told them that I had invited him to come to Houston for the Mystery & Fantasy Mardi Gras Party tomorrow.

If you could say that we had a song, it would be Amber's Above The Clouds and I shared that with the assembly.


I ended it by saying that if you believe heaven is above the clouds, then Bryan is there smiling at us.  And because I said hello to him the first time at church I was glad that I could be at a church at a Mass in his memory and be able to say, "See you later Bryan."

St. Justin the Martyr Catholic Church

EPILOGUE: A lady who was at the Mass told me that my comments made her smile.  Several guys who there told me I did good job.  Bryan's dad found me at the luncheon and thanked me for speaking.  He said he could tell that I spoke from my heart.