Ashes To Ashes
Ken Jones, Zach Owenby, Embry-Riddle Graduation, December 18, 2004.
It is hard to believe that a year has already passed since the death of one of my best and closest friends, Ken Jones. Not a week has gone by when I have not thought of him and how much I miss him.
A year later and his death still stings. But why? I thought time is supposed to heal all wounds?
As individuals, there is no guarantee that the particular road we travel in our existence will ever align with that of another individual. When others do come into our lives, the experience will influence a particular direction, but never dictates. When you have had the opportunity to know someone for any appreciable length of time, 12 years in the case of Ken, it is easy to take the randomness of our lives for granted.
Knowing someone for 12 years, especially during the formidable years of youth and self discovery, will result in many powerful memories formed from shared experiences. Some good, and some bad, but each with a story. Ken’s death still hurts because I know there will be no new memories, either good or bad. Ken’s death still hurts because 12 years is really not that much and I took time for granted. I am not angry at Ken for what he did, I am angry with myself for what I did not do.
Ken Jones, March 5, 1978 - December 20, 2008
This particular time of year is typically associated with family, friends, and togetherness. But more often than not, each subsequent year becomes an increasingly louder cacophony of shopping, parties, excessive drinking and eating, and a multitude of other items that occupy our time and consume our energy. Come December 26th, you can almost hear a collective, though short lived, sigh of relief from around the country. The New Year’s holiday a few short days later brings its own unique requirements, along with the illusion of new beginnings. What so many people seem to miss is the fact a holiday is so much more than a date on a calendar.
At the risk of sounding cliché, take a break from the holiday madness and tell those individuals closest to you how much you truly and genuinely care and appreciate them. Do not put yourself in a situation where you assume someone knows, lest you find yourself with doubt and remorse should your roads diverge permanently.
