Saying good-bye to Justin.

One of the problems with having a large extended family is that very often, you can go for loooooong periods of time without seeing people. Case in point: my cousin Justin. The last time I saw him he was maybe 5 or 6, I don't remember. It really has been that long.

On Friday October the 13th, 2006, I attended his funeral. He was 16.

He lived in Colfax, a small town nestled into the Western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It's a small place, everybody knows everybody.

The day was divided into 2 parts: A Catholic Mass for family, and following that, a get-together for...well, pretty much the whole town from what I could tell....

The Mass was dignified, and very emotional. They usually are. I honestly know little enough of the faith I was raised to believe in to relate any particular details of the service here, except to say that I know they did Communion.

This was his Missal (is that even what they call it):



The second event was at the Community Center, and was much looser. Many of his school friends were about, and relatives I hadn't seen since...well, prolly the last funeral. That seems to be the way it is. Somehow it's always the funerals.

There was a banner for people to sign:



And I guess you'd call it a shrine:



How do you say good-bye to a 16 year old boy? I barely knew Justin. We lived half a state away from each other. They ran a slide show, set to music. Songs that meant a lot to Justin, and songs that he had introduced people to. Some of his friends got up and spoke a few words. A friend of his mother's belted out a rendition of "Amazing Grace" that literaly brought tears to my eyes.

The event was capped by a dove release at sundown:





It's taken me quite a while to post this, as you can see. It's been a pretty emotional week.

Now, I hear some of you asking why Friday the 13th? Well, it would have been Justin's 17th birthday. The video below is a local news story about it. I warn you, it's pretty harsh.

News Story.

The asshole father is luck it wasn't MY kid he did that to. Were that the case, he'd be attending his own funeral.

Well, that's all I have for now.

T.