Sometimes some one will say or do something

[CC]

that will make you cry.....and that is not always a bad thing.
One of my son's friends wrote this today in his guestbook.

I figured I'd take a moment to come on here and tell a story about days long ago with Beau.

This is for you Beau!

As all of my historical stories begin:

BACK IN THE DAY.... when I was 15 years old, I created a game that challenged players to think of various ways to resolve conflicts. Kind of like a Dungeons & Dragons meets a Peace & Conflict class. In this particular challenge, there was a town full of impoverished residents. The only honest people in this town were taken advantage of by crooks and thieves. Law and order only existed through crime lead by two rivaling gangs. Beau started off as everyone else did, as a man with nothing but the clothes on his back, starving, trying to get by. He comes across a business owner and through brilliant dialogue convinces him to hire him. Many ideas are tried and found to bring success to the store. It isn't long before the crooks come by to rob him and when they came, he was the only person to smile gingerly and pay not the amount that was asked, but always gave more if he had it. He would say such things as, "5 gold pieces? Here, take 6, no take 10, looks like you need it." Time goes on and every single time one of either rivaling gang members stopped by to rob him, he always paid them without a moments though (It took time to earn money in this game). A day came when the two gangs emerged from their territories and were about to wage war for control of the town. Both rallied their forces in strategic positions on either side of the town ready to kill all that stand between them. Here comes Beau with a wooden crate, throws himself in the middle of this mob, climbs up on this crate and begins to passionately give a clever speech about peace and the betterment of humanity. He goes on to tell them how much the town would benefit if they would just work together instead of against one another. Due to Beau's past kindness to both sides of the conflict, just the smallest of kind social gestures, they all listened. On that day, the town came to know peace and I was left in aw.

Most players of the game choose resistance over negotiation. It could have been the age group, it could be that most people find resistance an easier path to take then the hard path of negotiation. Beau demonstrated on that day, even though in a fictional setting, the benefits of collaboration and interest based dialogue; he was only 15.

I cried at his funeral because I love him as I do a member of my family.

In my years I've come to know the qualities that makes someone great. Beau fit into that category. The world has lost a great kid that would have made a remarkable man. The kind of man that would make a positive impact in this world in a selfless way.

To you the reader I say, do not give up hope, for Beau will continue to live on through my stories and through the hearts of all who have been touched by this monument. Let him never go forgotten.

Eric

http://htmlgear.tripod.com/guest/control.guest?u=ccinmabar&i=1&a=view

[RevCheesehead]

1. My dear ferrettessa,

I am so happy that you got this message today. How blessed you are in knowing how much you touched, nurtured, and guided your son. It doesn't surprise me that he chose the loving way. You know that part about "5 gold pieces? Here, take 6, no take 10, looks like you need it" is straight from the Sermon on the Mount.

Doesn't surprise me one bit. After all, Beau had the best gift of all: he had you for a mom.

I love you, my friend. :hug::hug::hug:

[CC]

2. So now you are the second one to bring

good tears. :hug: It is good that Eric is up to writing stories/memories with Beau in them. He took it hard. A 6,4" 200 lbs, 19 yr old boy curled up in the corner of the funeral home crying loudly is not something I will ever forget. He has done good about staying in touch though and I love his story/memory telling because he is a natural story teller.

How did you do this weekend? Hopefully it was a bit easier on you than you thought it would be. I spent sunday planting flowers,lots of flowers. A friend of my mom's gave me a bunch of perennials (most I never heard of) so I got them in the ground. They will keep giving all summer and for years.
:hug::hug::hug:

I thought I would share here so others can know that 1, it is ok to talk about those we lost and missed and 2, not all tears are bad tears.

[RevCheesehead]

3. This year was much easier.

I think that now we've passed the anniversaries (of "the firsts"), we still feel her absence, but it's not as devastating as it once was.

Tears of joy.

That's it, exactly. :hug:

[CC]

5. I went to bed so didn't see this

until now. Glad it was easier for you this year. How is dad doing? Sending lots of :hug" your way.

[pecwae]

4. A beautiful tribute!

I agree about sometimes the tears are good tears. This is a story you will always hold dear.

When I read about the lowriders tribute to my Aaron it salved my heart in my early days of grief. A few days after he was killed a group of 200 rode through the streets of Fayetteville to honor Aaron and his friend who died with him. Oh, I cried, but as you say they were good tears.

To have confirmation that what we always knew about our children was evident to others is priceless. We miss our boys terribly and the world has missed the contributions they would have made.

Ah, CC, I still have my bad days after almost 9 years. My heart goes out to you. :hug:

[CC]

6. Sorry to hear about your Aaron but what

a great tribute from his buds.
The kids that are no longer kids learned it was ok and welcome for them to tell stories around us so we do get to hear some we didn't know. It is good to know Beau did learn what I was trying to teach him. I can only imagine the man he would of become but the stories help me to believe I am not far off.:hug: