He was just 23 years old and had his whole life ahead of him. He made his last phone call to his mother - her only son. His message was clear cut. He was doing it. he said goodbye and he did it.
Hundreds came to his home all day Sunday to sympathize with his parents. Hundreds more gathered today in the church where he served Mass as a teenager to say their own silent "goodbyes." Words failed everyone. People's presence tried to fill the vacuum for the family. Songs were sung that tried to be uplifting but nothing could cure the pain etched on his parents faces and that of his sister. A life ended. A light snuffed out. A great chasm left in its place.
(more later in one of my columns for "Gulf Pine Catholic" newspaper)
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