This past Saturday we held a memorial service for my late friend Jim Fordyce.  Jim passed away suddenly on October 27th of last year here in Palm Springs. Jim and I's freindship lasted more than 30 years and he was my second longest friendship in my life. We worked together in radio in Phoenix back in the early 1980s, and stayed friends all this time. I wrote about his passing and our friendship a few months ago here:  http://grgardner.livejournal.com/95087.html

His partner Kevin hosted the memorial in their home, and it was a festive time as Jim would have wanted it to be. I sat with Jim's parents a long time and chatted about the old days and about Jim and what a big fun personality he was, and I got to meet a lot of Jim's friends I hadn't known before.

The man who was the last to see Jim alive wrote a wonderful poem, and Kevin started to read it but couldn't get past the second line without crying. I stepped up, and as Jim would have wanted, put on my radio announcer amour and did my best to read it without having read it before and without choking up.  I'm glad to say I did, and I'm sure Jim was smiling wherever he is after I finished it flawlessly.

But it was such a wonderful poem I wanted to share it here.

He Just Up and Flew Away -- Richard Byford

I had a friend die today
I was the last to see his smile
It sure makes me wonder
I had a friend die today

Life is really just a journey
And I think we should look at it that way
Everything is just a moment in time
I had a friend end his journey today

It seems such a waste of time
with all the effort that we put into living
We can't take anything with us
My friend died alone today

We take so much for granted
He had a life planned for tomorrow
We had life planned with him
But life will go on --

I had a friend die to day
He just closed his eyes and went away
To where -- you have to wonder
I wonder if he just changed trains
perhaps my friend started a new journey today

Perhaps our bodies are just a temporary home
To house the spirit that is us
When it's time we just up and fly away
Just up and fly away

My friend died today
We will all miss his smile
We will all tell stories of his life
I wonder what they will say about me
when I up and fly away
But for now the moment life goes on...