Only the Good Die Young...

The world lost a great person and I lost another relative. My cousin, Shad died suddenly from a heart attack and shocked us all by leaving WAY too soon. He was a talented artist and all round good guy. I never met anyone who didn't like Shad. In high school he was a great athlete and as handsome as they came.

I remember as a little girl him being a lifeguard at the huge public pool where EVERYONE in East Point hung out. All the lifeguard's were bigger than life to little kids like me. It was like swimming with Donny Osmond and David Cassidy watching over you while you swam around their elite "Lifeguard Stand" just hoping they would notice you. I was lucky. Shad was my cousin so he actually DID notice me and would actually speak to me. When I was a kid, you could send off for a Muscular Dystrophy carnival packet. They would mail you a kit telling you how to set up different booths and games in your back yard to raise money for MD. My older sister was dating the "Head" lifeguard and he and Shad and all the other life guards came over to our house to my stupid little carnival and gave me the dream afternoon of a lifetime for a nine year old little girl. I raised quite a bit of money considering it was 1969 and it was one of the stand out days of my childhood. He used to see me trudging up Jefferson Ave. to the elementary school lugging my French Horn and would stop in his Porsche to give me a ride to Harris Street School. Now THAT was "Cool" even by MY pre pubescent standards.

They lived not too far from us..a five minute car ride. His father and my father were brothers and looked so much alike it was no wonder that my sister and Shad looked more like brother and sister than cousins. They were both even blessed with the same buck teeth that had to be corrected with braces. Both had blond hair and blue eyes and both were incredibly popular and well liked by everyone.

If I had to classify Shad as an adult it would be " a hippie"...a really COOL hippie. Always down to earth and an amazingly talented artist. His mother is an artist as well and the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Shad was laid back, never high strung but even keeled and always easy to talk to. My husband really liked Shad and said he reminded him of a "Good looking Greg Allman." He has two amazing kids to carry on his legacy. They should feel proud to have been blessed with such a wonderful father and I know they will both do him proud.

He followed the path of art direction and did REALLY well for himself. He was always low key and modest but had tremendous talent. These pictures are from a garden in his yard and sum him up perfectly... "Peaceful, tranquil and beautifully designed."

I have an eclectic extended family. There are all shapes and kinds. There are professionals and artists. There are ones I see and talk to often and some I see every decade or so. I saw Shad every few years...he and his girlfriend came to a Christmas party at my house a couple of years ago and it was a delight to be around him again.

My Mom died when I was seventeen...suddenly and quickly. My Dad died in 2002...in ten days he went from perfectly healthy to being taken off life support. Shad's Dad did it the same way...he was on the tennis court one minute with Shad's friend and gone the next.

My brother summed up our family and it's history perfectly one day when he said to me "Our family takes the express check out."

If you have to go that's the way...no lingering illness, no years of slow demise. You are here one minute and the next minute you are gone.

Shad was one in a million. I never knew anyone that didn't love Shad. I never knew anyone that Shad didn't love.

I guess there may be exceptions but as far back as I can remember, when our family wants to go...they do just that.

I know my grandparents lingered and I am sure that was horrible for my parent's , Aunt's and Uncle's.

You are never guaranteed ANYTHING in life. When you inhale...you may not exhale. When you go to sleep at night you may not wake up in the morning. When you are here today...it is no guarantee that you will see tomorrow much less the next hour...minute or second.

Life is constantly an instant. Life is what you are living the second you blink your eye or have a thought. It can all be gone before you blink again.

Life is to be treasured, enjoyed and lived to it's fullest.

I think that is what Shad did... what MY parent's did and what Shad's Dad did. We will miss Shad, I miss all of the relatives that have passed on and left my life. What "IS" important is how you are going to live your next minute...your next second. You can think ahead to tomorrow, but always be prepared to say to the Maker today "I think I did good."

I am fortunate...extremely fortunate. I come from a long line of wonderful people that have done their time...made their mark on the world and been embedded into my mind, memory and soul. They are all gone now... Big mama, Big daddy, Mama, Diddy, Uncle Chuck, Uncle Billy, Aunt Lurline, Aunt Virginia, Uncle Pont, Cousins Mike, Patrick, and now Shad.

We have a family reunion planned for tomorrow...it's still on. I wish I could peek in on the reunion upstairs in the "Big Guy's Mansion." Not sure which one would be better...but you never know which one you will be attending, do ya?