For Hollis

Yesterday was a difficult day. Beautiful, but difficult. I cried. I thought I could read what Mom wrote for Hollis' service, but I broke down and cried.

My parents bought the urn for Hollis' ashes. It was a beautiful urn. They also had 8 smaller urns to share with the family members, which was thoughtful. Didi picked up Hollis' ashes. Then Mimi picked them up from Didi and brought them to my parents' home. Kevin went to my parents' home to put the ashes in the various urns.

Mom said that she couldn't be in the same room, she had to leave while Kevin did that.... She said that Kevin had a difficult time doing so, but he had my Dad and Erica, Kevin's girlfriend, with him for support. They placed paper down so that if any of the ashes fell that they could roll the paper and use it to put in an urn. Kevin used a spoon and put some in each of the smaller ashes and he spilt some on the paper. Dad slapped Kevin on the shoulder and said, "Your Daddy told me that if you drop any more of him that I'm gonna have to kick your ass!" Kevin busted out laughing... when Kevin told my Mom about this, Kevin added, "When someone can make you laugh during a time like that.. it's talent."

Hollis had us laughing during the video'd interview that Celeste did of Hollis back in 2008. Celeste asked Hollis some good questions and Hollis' answers were beautiful for his own service. But Kevin laughed.. saying... "If my Dad knew that this was his epitaph, then he would have worn a nice pair of pants." Mom and Didi laughed, saying, "Only Hollis could get away with wearing shorts to his own funeral."

Difficult day, but beautiful and much needed for the healing to begin. I merged still pictures, video footage from the service and video footage from the interview (including parts where my uncle plays the clarinet) to share with family and friends who were unable to attend. Click Here to view.

My cousin, Kevin, is also sharing a link for free to his father's music. He'll probably only keep the link up for a month, but you can download the music for free. If you enjoy listening to a native New Orleanian, professional jazz musician, click here.