I Will Remember You
This past Monday was the 4th anniversary of my brother Jimmy’s death. My brother Danny was destined to go a month after Jim. The photo is of my brothers, Bobby and Joey, raising Jim’s tribute flag at the 1st annual James Redman Memorial picnic, held at the Blue Hill Weather Observatory in Milton, Massachusetts, where Jim was a weather club member and volunteer. My sister-in-law, Jeanne, is our resident family clergy person who has married some of us. I attended the recent 4th annual memorial event when I was in Massachusetts. There, we came together as family and friends of Jim’s and at the end of the evening, Jeanne shared the following touching and original invocation.
We Remember
With the crash of the waves, We remember.
With the whisper of the wind, We remember.
With the sun on our face, We remember.
With every record breaking meteorological event, We remember.
With the storm on the horizon, We remember.
We remember that you are like the storm Jim,
just over the horizon, Though we cannot see you,
We remember that you are just beyond our view, waiting for us. And so it is with joy and gratitude that we remember. . .
The crash of the waves say “I love you”.
The whisper of the wind says “I love you”.
The sun kissing our face says “I love you”.
I love you. . .we remember.
Note: “I Will Remember You” is the title of the song by Sarah Mclachlan that was played for Jim at his wake. Also, this past Monday, my sister wrote a moving piece about my brother’s death on her blog “A Particularly Persistent Point of View.” You can read it here.
July 28th, 2005 12:04 pm
i’m choked up but i realize i can write even though i could barely tri to talk in this state. the remembering feels all the stronger due to the stormy weather passing over us today.
so what is a remembrance and how do we feel it so strongly?
does the mental image trully re-embody their presence in the cells of this membrane of molecules i call myself? does it recreate their image as a member of the information coded in those cells? if their image and thus their membership in this ongoing mind/body experience i call me is still so palpable that i feel it, then where are they? they cannot be gone…in the sense that there is no “away” in the quantum universe….yet i can no longer touch/smell/”see”
them “here”…. i can only re’member them and feel whatever part of them still has membership “here” within the heart/mind miracle system walking around in this body, this member. this membrane of molecules. What the “bleep” DO i know? Bob Marley said it best “Who feels it, Knows it!” (lawd)
July 28th, 2005 12:49 pm
Are you sure thats Bob in the Pic…
July 28th, 2005 1:10 pm
There’s certainly no topping Jeanne’s “We Remember” (thanks Jeanne), or the raising of the flag in Jim’s honor but I wrote aboout a memory too.
My memory of four years ago was of a different kind.
Read it here:
http://ben-gal.tripod.com/index.blog?entry_id=1173497
Thank you Colly.
July 28th, 2005 2:05 pm
Bob, I’m almost certain that’s your arm and the hint of your profile, raising the flag. Nelson is in the background snapping a picture of it. And…oh yeah, Kath, I meant to link to your site for your write-up on Jimmy’s death. I’ll do it now.
July 28th, 2005 10:09 pm
Strong hugs to you all.
JoeyK’s words resonate for me. As I wrote the other day about my friend Helen (and read to my group) I was overcome with fresh grief, even though she died in 1998. She was not family but a dear friend — and I have not grieved over anyone like that, including my parents, before or since. Can only say: what is, is.
July 29th, 2005 12:01 am
That is so touching. You are a stong survior and a sweet sister to remember.
July 29th, 2005 10:43 am
How very touching. The post ~ the poetry, the photo. Thanks for sharing it all with us.
July 30th, 2005 10:21 am
I lost my ‘younger’ (54) sister about three years ago. She was the most special person in our family, so of course, she was the one that had to die. Maybe someday I can write with as much beauty and insight as your do.
October 10th, 2010 3:35 pm
[…] older brother Jim was an aspiring photographer who had some of his weather shots published. He also took odd […]