Saturday was gloriously beautiful, a pleasant change from the horrific weather that brought so much grief to so many Houstonians last week. The roads were choking with traffic. I suspect that most of the people of the city had cabin fever from being forced to stay inside for so long. It took me almost an hour to travel from my home to a destination in League City that should been little more than a thirty minute excursion. Driving might have been a source of extreme frustration were my mind not occupied with other thoughts. Instead, I found myself reveling in the buzz of activity playing out all around me. I realized at that moment that I am still very much a part of “this thing called life” and that was somehow a comfort to me.
I was on a very important mission, the last hurrah if you will for an old classmate. Eventually I reached St. Mary’s Catholic Church, the place where my friend, Chris, lay in quiet repose. He was all decked out in a Hawaiian shirt which somehow managed to make me smile even in the face of such a somber occasion. We had of course all assembled to pay our last respects to Chris and his family, a solemn duty that is never easy regardless of the circumstances. Continue reading “The Gathering”
I am not among the wealthiest people that I know but if I compare myself to the entire population of the world I am indeed rich. I never achieved fame for the work that I did and none of my blogs have gone viral. Mine has been a rather quiet life, mostly routine and average. On the other hand if I were to consider the quality of the friends whose company I have enjoyed I would have to admit to being blessed beyond measure. It is in the people who have crossed my path and stopped to share extraordinary moments with me that I have become a woman of distinction. Perhaps there is no more interesting and accomplished person among those with whom I have shared a cup of tea than Seng-Dao Keo. 
It’s the morning after the big rain storms in Houston. Today so many families are facing the destruction of their homes or the loss of their property, possessions and cars. Far worse are the deaths of five individuals who never dreamed yesterday morning that before the day was done they would become victims of the raging waters that overtook the city’s bayous and streets. While all of the pandemonium was playing out all over my hometown there were people still dealing with the routines of life. Babies were born, people became sick, some took their final breaths. The world goes on all around us in spite of dramatic events and this was all too sadly true for my long time friend, Chris Nixon. This morning those of us who knew him learned from his daughter that he had died. 
