Often Rich will walk outside and listen for a minute... he will then say, the people he loves that are gone will never hear the birds, never smell the rain and never feel the warmth of the sun on their skin again. He and I have really different ideas when it comes to death...But he has lost a good amount of people in recent months that are so close to him... and now one more. Rich is 1000 miles away from me and I felt compelled, tonight, as I learned of his good friends death, to call him and let him know... before facebook and before he got back from his trip. I know how close he was to Chad and I knew in every cell of my being that waiting would only cause more and prolonged grief. I walked out onto the front stoop, heard the birds, smelled the damp in the air and felt the wind on my skin, and all of the grief and weight that Rich feels for the loved ones he has lost. It is almost too much to carry.
This tattoo is by Chad Sellers. It is the last one he did before his unexpected death. I only knew him a little bit but I knew that he was truly a golden person. Rich had nothing but amazing things to say about Chad. They had a friendship in a box all its own. Chad would call Rich, excited about a tattoo, excited about getting tattooed or hanging out with someone amazing (Jim Miner), plans were made for him to come back to Portland, plans were made for us to visit NY. I can still hear his voice from the outside looking in on their friendship. This is not happening... for the sake of Rich's heart and Chad's family....it can't be happening. The universe raining down... harder than I can keep up with. And for the sake of difference in belief... I hope Chad, that you can still feel the warmth of the sunshine on your skin and above all, the love that so many people feel for you. Safe travels my friend...
