CHRIS - AN OLD FRIEND

A SUNNY AFTERNOON IN EDINBURGH

THESE WORDS MADE ME CRY AND SMILE

TO AN OLD FRIEND 

SLEEP WELL CHRIS

"Our friend died on his own battlefield. He was killed in action fighting a civil war. He fought against adversaries that were as real to him as his casket was real to us. They were powerful adversaries. They took toll of his energies and endurance. They exhausted the last vestiges of his courage and strength. At last these adversaries overwhelmed him. And it appeared that he lost the war. But did he? How did he? I see a host of victories that he has won!

For one thing-he has won our admiration-because even if he lost the war, we give him credit for his bravery on the battle field. And we give him credit for the courage and pride and hope that he used as his weapons as long as he could. We shall remember not his death, but his daily victories gained through his kindness and thoughtfulness, through his family and friends, for animals and books and music, for all things beautiful, lovely and honorable. We shall remember the many days that he was victorious over overwhelming odds. We shall remember not the years we thought he had left, but the intensity with which he lived the years he had!