"Upon my departure"

The memorial service for Ron today was a fine re-membering of him, I thought, indeed. Howard Hanger and Paul Ghost Horse collaborated to create an evocative, resonant ceremony that articulated the themes of Ron's life, and offered space for many of his friends and family members to share memories of their experiences with Ron as well. Though I'd known Ron for years, so long that I no longer remember exactly where and when we met (just that it was some time in the eighties), I felt that I knew him much better after the afternoon of shared stories.

The handout that Rita Hayes, Candace Rice, and Ron's sister Cyndi put together featured, among other things, a statement Ron had jotted down in his own hand for reading "upon my departure" - in 1979, when he was just thirty. It had been folded and stored in a keepsake box, and Rita and Candace discovered it as they were going through Ron's things after his death. Here it is (just click on the image to enlarge it for reading):













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Cross-posted at Natures.