This is the eulogy I gave for Andy - Democratic Underground

WilliamPitt

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Mon Jul-18-05 11:22 AM
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This is the eulogy I gave for Andy

The memorial was just wonderful - funny, sad, uplifting in an odd way to see so many pledge to carry on his work.

I met Andy's mom, who was the sweetest thing ever. I know where Andy got his nature now. Before we were done speaking, she grabbed me by the shirt and made me promise to deal with the people who attacked her son. I promised.

I also met a King County cop at the service who was very interested in the story.

Anyway...I'm headed to the woods for a couple of days.

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At the end of April 2005, Andy Stephenson sat down and sketched out some quick thoughts in a short essay titled ‘What A Ballot Is.’ In that essay, he wrote, “It is not merely a piece of paper. It is me. It is my voice. Each of us should guard it more than we would our most prized or precious possession. That ballot protects our other possessions. Without it, you have no say. It has been the driving force behind what I have done and will continue to do. To me, my ballot is the most sacred sacrament of the secular religion we call Democracy.”

Andy Stephenson was a hero of mine and so many others, a source of endless inspiration, a man who showed me and so many others what it is to be an activist, what dedication means, what perseverance looks like. Within the lines of that essay on what a ballot is can be found the soul of a true patriot, the spirit of a man who spent himself to try and protect our democracy from a slow rot, the determination of a man who saw the vote as the seedcorn of our freedom, and decided that the vote would not be tarnished or wrecked or ruined within the reach of his arm.

To talk about Andy the activist is to tell only part of the story, however. If we were to spend this day talking only about the politics that infused his life and brought so many of us into the blessing of his friendship, we would be overlooking the smile of his that could outshine the stars and touched every part of his face. We would be overlooking his laugh, which could lift the roofs off of houses.

Most of all, we would be overlooking his heart, which entered the world with an extraordinary openness, which encompassed all, which wrapped those of us who knew him and loved him in a warmth that beggars description. We would be overlooking his love for Ted, with whom he shared himself for almost twenty years. We would be overlooking his love for his family. These are the things that made Andy who he was, that made his activism a labor of passion, these are the things that make us all better for having known him.

Andy’s friend Barbara tells stories of calling Andy and having him answer in booming song, doing Ethel Merman for all he was worth. His friend great aunt of triplets on the web forum Democratic Underground tells stories of writing songs with him about Subway: “Hello Subway my old friend, I’ve come to eat here once again.” Another person from DU tells the story of Andy pursuing an electronic voting machine executive for an interview by laying in wait with a camera…in a hedge… for a long time.

Another DUer said, simply, that at a time when they were close to giving up and feeling hopeless, Andy proved to them and truly made them believe in The Power of One.
One person, they learned from Andy, can and does make all the difference anywhere and anytime in the world. I could spend a day, a night and another day telling you stories from his friends. There are so many, and they all carry the common thread of his humanity, his strength, his wisdom, his smile.

One thing Andy feared was that all the work he did to save our right to vote would come to nothing, so I stand here today with a challenge. Pick up where he left off. Take up his banner and run with it. Do not tire, because he did not tire. Do not despair, because he did not despair. Do not quit, because he did not quit, not once, not ever. His cause is our cause, and his passion must be our passion. If Andy Stephenson taught us one thing, it is that it is never to late, and that one person can make a difference.

But if you do this, you must do it the way he did it, with a smile on your face and love in your heart. Andy got angry, so you can get angry. Andy got frustrated, so you can get frustrated. But Andy never lost that bright light at the center of himself, and so you must keep his light brightly shining with your own, at your center, forever. Together, we will go forward in the name of the cause he believed in and gave himself to completely, and we will do so with him as the wind at our backs.

Speaking of wind at our backs, I promised one of Andy’s friends that I would close with an Irish blessing. So I offer this to Andy, to all of you, to everyone who knew him and loved him.

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.