God saw you getting tired,
And a cure was not to be,
So He put his arms around you,
And whispered “Come to Me”
With tearful eyes we
watched you suffer,
And saw you fall away.
Although we couldn’t bear to lose you,
We could not ask you to stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
Hardworking hands laid to rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
That He only takes the best.
That poem was on the prayer cards that were handed out at Herman’s wake. It’s been a week since he died, and a day since his burial… Talk about a weekend of emotions — mostly of sadness and despair, but definitely a healthy sprinkling of joy (remembering Herman’s life) and in some cases, gluttony! O_o You see, there was quite the spread of food at Herman’s 2-day wake and my big sis put it best; we ate, we prayed, we cried. Not necessarily in that order. 😉
Oh, there was a bit of star-sighting, as well. Herman made good on his promise to my brother, Jeremiel. Herman has mentioned (and not in a boasting manner) that he knew Lea Salonga (she’s a Filipina artist [singer/actor] who performed on Broadway [Les Miserables, Miss Saigon] and off-Broadway [Flower Drum Song]). Anyway, Herman apparently told Jeri he’ll introduce him to Lea Salonga so that Jeri can get her autograph. LOL. Yes, my little bro, as Ms. Salonga was heading out after paying her respects, was able to get what Herman had promised. Silly brudder, but good on ya, Herman.
The funeral mass and burial was as expected: heart-wrenching. I think the finality (of this earthly life) and highlighted by the burial opened the floodgates (or in my and others’ cases, tear-ducts) as most there — Herman’s family and friends — bawled our eyes out.
I miss you, my friend. I will see you again… But not yet… not yet… 🙂
p.s.,
A friend donated a whopping $1k to the Team Herman fundraiser for the LA Marathon, which will benefit the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. I’m basically 1% (or 140 people who can give $10 each) away from my goal! THANKS MIA AND JUN!
