Gone Too Soon

Ethan’s accident happened on a Friday.  Three days after school started last year.   Today was the first day of school in Harris County.  This would have been his Senior year.  Instead of catching up with friends, checking out new classes, conferring with his guidance counselor over his college plans, playing football and running for class officer, he is gone.  I am re-living the entire nightmare.  Today was a horrible day. 

I remember laying in bed at night right after the accident and the only two words that kept going through my head were “Ethan” and “Dead”…like I was trying wrap my mind around an incomprehensible concept.  I saw Usher sing this song at Michael Jackson’s funeral.  MJ originally wrote it for Ryan White who died of AIDS from a blood transfusion.  The words express how I am feeling.  Ethan is the one in the bright green t-shirt. 

 

Like A Comet
Blazing ‘Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

Ah, God.  I pray for the strength to make it through this week and the week after. 

Email funny

Got this in an email and it actually made me laugh.  God knows, I takes my giggles where I can get ‘em these days. 

America has proven it can no longer be independant, Great Britain offered to take us back….

MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN 
  

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II:

———————–
1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’ ‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’  Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters,  and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’  Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels.  (look up ‘vocabulary’).
————————
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ”like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf.  The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ‘u” and the elimination of  ’-ize.’
——————- 
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. 
—————– 
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists.  The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent.  Guns should only be used for shooting grouse.  If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.
———————- 
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler.  Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public. 
———————- 
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect.  At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables.   Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. 
——————– 
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon.  Get used to it. 

——————- 
8. You will learn to make real chips.  Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps.  Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar. 
——————- 
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all.  Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of  known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager.  South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer.  They are also part of the British Commonwealth – see what it did for them.  American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion. 
——————— 
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys.   Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters.  Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater. 
——————— 
11. You will cease playing American football.  There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer.  Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).  
——————— 
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball.  It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America .  Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable.  You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries. 
——————– 
13. You must tell us who killed JFK.  It’s been driving us mad. 
—————– 
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776). 
————— 
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream)  when in season. 
——————

God Save the Queen! 

In Loving Memory of Ethan Thompson

Irony

This was the last paper he ever wrote for school. It was written two days before he died. The ironic thing is, he forgot it that Friday morning and had to call his daddy to bring it to him.  It was the last time Mark saw him alive. This is what he wrote.

Ethan Thompson
8/6/08
Mrs. Sheppard
1st Block
My Life

 My name is Ethan Thompson and was born in Columbus, Ga. I have lived in Harris County all my life. I attended Park Elementary, Harris County Carver Middle School, and Harris County High School.

I’ve had a pretty average life thus far. I been involved with sports my entire life. I would consider myself a “natural” athlete. I’ve played football, baseball, and soccer and loved them all.

I’ve been involved in church my entire life and I’m a proud Christian. I currently attend The King’s Pasture Community Church in Hamilton. I serve under my youth pastor, Ben Ogletree, as a Student Leader. I also play guitar in the youth band.
 My family consists of: my father, Mark; my mother, Angie; and my brother, Zach. My brother is twenty and graduated from Harris County High with the class of 2006.
My talents include: sports, guitar, and talking to ladies. I’ve played guitar since I was nine years old. I played football for our varsity team last year and plan to play again next year.
 After high school I plan to attend the University of Georgia and perhaps pursue a career in the Medical or Teaching fields. I’ve always enjoyed helping people and working with kids.
 This summer I worked as a cashier at the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain. I really don’t like it there, much. But, I do get meet a lot of interesting people. I pretty much work all the time. I also hung out with my best friend James when I wasn’t working.

 My name is Ethan Thompson and I have an interesting job, I like sports, and I play music. I am a pretty easy-going guy and I like to find the good in things. I am really looking forward to this class!

 

 

Nothing will ever be the same

Current mood: numb

 

Ethan Thompson 16, of Pine Mountain Valley died Friday, August 8, 2008 in Hamilton. Funeral services will be held 11:00 AM on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at Kings Pasture Church, Hamilton with Pastor Gino Zalunardo, officiating, assisted by pastor Randy Puckett and Pastor Ben Ogletree, according to Cox Funeral Home, Hamilton. Interment will follow in Roosevelt Memorial Cemetery, Pine Mountain Valley. Visitation will be from 6 – 8 PM Monday at Kings Pasture. Ethan was born November 22, 1991 in Columbus, the son of Mark and Angie Thompson. He was a junior at Harris County High School where he was a member of the Tiger football team and tennis team. Ethan was an active member of Kings Pasture Church where he was greatly admired and served as a youth leader and a member of the youth band. He also played Recreation League Soccer and enjoyed hunting, fishing and playing the guitar. Ethan was a special young man with a unique sense of humor who was loved by everyone he met. Ethan is survived by his parents, Mark and Angie Thompson of Pine Mountain Valley; brother, Zach Thompson of Pine Mountain Valley; paternal grandparents, Aubrey and Catherine Thompson of Columbus and several cousins, aunts and uncles.

I am beyond devastated. There will never be another like him. He was half of my heart and soul.  

There is a stillness in our home that was never there before.  A void. A vacuum. 

My sweet Spawn II.  No more surprise visits to me at work to bring me a milkshake. No more Georgia Bulldogs ringtone on my cell announcing your calls. No more impromptu EZE crumpin or crazy, random raps.  No more thrice weekly visits to San Marcos for steak quesadillas and cheese dip and visits to Jose’, your hermano.   

To me you personified this proverb:  When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.   

The world….YOUR world….is crying.

You are the best 16 year old a momma ever had…..

I am totally smitten with this child

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen??  I can’t stop laughing.  I am thinking of trying ‘the look’ on Spawn 1 and Spawn II.

Best PMS Question Ever

Q: How many women with PMS does it take to change a light bulb? Woman’s Answer: One! ONLY ONE!!!! And do you know WHY? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don’t even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out. And, once they figured it out, they wouldn’t be able to find the #&%!* light bulbs despite the fact that they’ve been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them, 2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE FREAKING LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!! BECAUSE NO ONE EVER PICKS UP OR CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT’S A WONDER WE HAVEN’T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS PLACE! AND DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHO CHANGES THE TOILET PAPER ROLL !! I’m sorry. What was the question?

WTF??

They say bad things come in threes. I think I have had my three bad things over the past few months.

First was Josh, then on July 2nd, my friend Candy was killed in a car accident.  She was only 36 years old.  That poor woman had a hard life and was finally getting to the point where she felt accepted and knew people loved her, regardless of her past.  Now that funeral was a study in contrasts.  Candy had old friends from her ‘past life’ that looked like they had stepped outside to burn a doobie before they came in for the service AND business owners in their Sunday best.  There were even a few in jeans and t-shirts.  If the deceased can see those left behind, Candy would have been surprised at the number of people there.  We were expecting 30 or 40 and over 150 people came to pay their respects.  Godspeed Candace Joy. You will be missed.

And today, my next-door neighbor (and one of my best friends m-i-l) passed away.  Not unexpected, but depressing nevertheless.

I am in serious need of some good news.  Someone….tell me something good.  Anything.

Joshua Joseph Zalunardo

It has taken me from my last post until now to be able to sit down and write this, my last post, about Josh.
Last week was…eventful, to say the least.
My husband and I arranged for meals for Gino and his family. There was such an out pouring from the church and the community we were able to feed Josh’s aunt’s family and his maternal grandmother as well. Three local restaurants; Dora’s Place, Sumo-to-Go, and The 27th Grill, donated enough food to feed 200 folks Saturday night with enough left over that Mark, Allisa and myself could feed the family again after church on Sunday. We are so blessed to live in a community that cares.Wednesday, the church helped Gino clear an acre and a half lot on their property which they transformed into a family cemetery. One of the advantages of living in Harris Co.; all you need is one to four acres, a certified survey and to file the request with the county and you can have a private burial ground right on your own property! It is so peaceful there. Josh loved to hunt that land. He would be pleased. 

Thursday the youth pastor, Ben headed a service at the church for the middle and high school kids. The sanctuary was packed; there must have been 600 kids (and some adults as well) there. Ben led Worship and the Vision Band did some of Josh’s favorite praise and worship songs, because Josh wanted this to be a celebration, not a sad time. Then Pastor Gino and Diedere spoke. At the end Gino gave an invitation, around 100 kids accepted Christ. Gino has always told us that his heart for youth is the reason he moved to Harris Co. 7 years ago. Diedere shared about a dream she had the night before; Joshua was riding his 4-wheeler, jumping the clouds. She said, speaking to Josh’s friends and acquaintances (and this broke my heart) that ‘whenever you see me, come give me a big ol’ hug…and I’ll know it’s from Joshua.Friday was regular visitation for the community. For over 3 hours the family stood and accepted condolences. Saturday was Joshua’s celebration of life & homegoing service. The church sanctuary was standing room only and the cafe area was set up as an overflow video room. The family said their private good-byes to Joshua. The service opened with one of Joshua’s favorite songs “Friend of God.” Then Haden, Brooke, and Pastor Ben spoke on their memories of Josh. His older brother Caleb spoke and shared some funny memories. Tehn Caleb said one of the most profound things I can ever recall coming from a 17 year old boy. He said I don’t think I ever really told Josh I loved him. I know he knew it, but if I could go back I’d hug him so tight and tell him I loved him. His younger sister Victoria read a sweet poem she had written called “I Remember” that was all about her memories from the time she found out about his tumor until the day he passed, sprinkled with childhood recollections. 

I don’t know how he did it, but his daddy~ our pastor~ Gino gave a moving message about Joshua and God’s Sovereignty that included a prayer of salvation. There was a slideshow that brought me to tears. The two hour service was followed by a brief graveside service on Gino & Diedere’s land at sunset. Diedere released 15 white balloons, one for each year of Joshua’s life. As those balloons drifted above the tops of the trees the sky gently thundered. And half the people there (myself included) burst into tears. It was like a sign from the Lord to reassure us that Joshua was now in His keeping.I will never understand why our Joshua was taken from us. But I am thankful for having known Joshua and know that he has touched so many lives during his short time amongst us. He lived his last year in a way that was powerful, courageous, and inspirational. As Gino shared we have only begun to see the effect of Joshua’s life, his legacy will continue. 

JOSHUA JOSEPH ZALUNARDO(1992-2008 On Saturday, May 31st, Cruising 4 A Cause, a fundraiser that we palnned months agao to help with medical expenses is being held. The sponsors have decided to make this an annual event naming it the Joshua Zalunardo Memorial Race. Each year in the future, it will benefit the building of a Youth Center for our Vision youth ministry at King’s Pasture Community Church.

 

 

 

Joshua is my pastor’s middle child. He was diagnosed with a brainstem glioblastoma a year ago.

At about 9:30 Monday night May 19th, Joshua passed from this life & is free. Very peacefully he took his last breaths. His family was there with him. Joshua has fought the good fight, he has finished the race, he has kept the faith. Now there is for Joshua a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to Joshua. 2 Tim. 4:7-8

So.

This is my tribute to Joshua Joseph Zalunardo.

I love you always and I miss you terribly.
Like I told you on the morning that you took your last breath, I will see you again real soon.

Joshua Joseph Zalunardo

September 1992 – May 2008

You will live in my heart forever.