A Fitting Farewell

So Johnny's funeral took place this morning. Even though we somewhat expected it, a LOT of people showed up. Just a testament to how many people he may have touched in one way or another.

Mark gave the eulogy and I am glad it was him. He picked the best things to say and reached out everyone in the audience. I would probably have choked and unfortunately, I did not know too much about the rest of Johnny's life to be able to have said better. Well done, Mark.

The mass was excellent. During holy communion, we sang the song that Johnny and I heard in Rome during World Youth Day 2000 called "We Are One Body." They got the guitar just right. It was exactly that kind of rhythm and guitar that got him to love the song so much. Unfortunately, we weren't able to share it with the others because... well, they had to be there to have heard what we heard. Most ppl didn't find the song as uplifting or exciting cuz we just couldn't replicate it. I think today, they finally heard what we heard. Much thanks to the choir for allowing me to relive those days.

At the end, I don't know what song the priests sang, but that chant just hit me like a wave of water. I started to cry... just as much as I did when I first saw my sister in the hospital morgue... It was powerful. I loved that kind of music and I thought it was a worthy end and send off to my dear friend. I only wish I knew what it was... I wish I could find more music like that. I guess you can add Gregorian chant to another one of my strange music likes... heh...

So, with that done, we now begin to resume our journey in life. We cannot cease performing our duties of the moment. While I will miss having you around dude, I know that both you and my sister will look upon us all from Heaven. I await the day that we will take up to the skies together once more... I could never have asked for a better wingman and brother. Until we fly again...