Dear Gary,
Happy 60th. birthday, big brother. So hard to still believe its been almost 2 years and there's been 2 August 7th's since you've left us. No matter, Wooly Man, I will always celebrate you, your birthday, your essence and I will be forever grateful you were here.
I just finished Patti Smith's book "Just Kids", and in it, she tells of her story of her departed friend Robert Mapplethorpe and his influence on her life. In the last paragraph, she asks - " Why can't I find the words than can awaken the dead? " I must have read that line ten times before I realized that question was one I've been trying to answer for as long as you've been gone. I will never stop trying to find those words, will always hold out for the hope that in some way, I can bring you back, even if for a fleeting moment and only in heart and spirit.
Up until recently, I used to look for you everywhere: in the brightest star in the cold night sky, in that elusive prism of light in the last moment of sunset, in the bright daylight. But I know now, I no longer have to search for you because you are evident in absolutely everything around me. I know you're still here, still around us all and I will be forever driven to see the world through your eyes.
Happy birthday, Gary. I will love and miss you forever and will carry you close to my heart until that glorious day where I will find those magic words that will awaken you.
Always,
Edye
