In Loving Memory of Michael Jakovich 1960-2003

WHAT IS DEATH?

Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I, you are you.
Whatever we were to each other, that we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name.
Speak to me in the same easy way you always used.
Put no difference in your tone.
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed 
at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word it ever was.
Let it be spoken without affect, 
without the trace of a shadow on it. 


Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same that it ever was.
"There is absolutely unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight."

I am waiting for you, for an interval,
Somewhere very near ,
Just around the corner.

All is well.

--Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918)
Canon of Saint Paul

SO LONG MR. FUNNY MAN…

So you had it your way
Mr. "Happy Go-Buggy Man",
Making us laugh
As only you can.

Meeting the kids
Deep in their soul;
Helping restore them,
Keeping them whole.

So long, our good buddy
The funniest guy.
Making us laugh 'til
You forced us to cry.

A teacher you were
Not like any other.
Treating each teen
Like a sister or brother.

Two charter schools opened
With your special touch.
You worked with a fervor
Giving so much

The shirt off your back
You would give if you could've;
Living life fully
Ignoring the "should've".

Nothing was too much
To ask as your friend
Now we're all left wondering
Why so soon it did end.

It's hard enough to understand 
That your time on Earth is done.
It's harder yet to figure out
Some ways to keep things fun!

To you, "Mr. Happy-Go-Buggy-Man"
Life was just a game;
To us, the ones you left behind
It's hard to not place blame.

Oh, Shine on us, bright Michael Star
Show us where you are.
Tell us one of your ludicrous jokes,
So we can laugh from afar.

Share that love from your beautiful heart
That never wanted to die.
Teach us now to lift ourselves,
Show us how to fly.

Michael come lately, left too soon;
Help us find our way.
Show us how, Mr. "Mick At Night"
To laugh and love each day.

--Karilee

IF...

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by the waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk to wise;

If you can dream...and not make dreams your master;
If you can think...and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
and lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breath a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them "Hold On!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings...nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And...which is more...you'll be a Man, my son.

Rudyard Kipling

--Let go of pride, ego, and opinions. 
  Admit your errors and forgive those of others. 
  Relinquishment will lead to calm and healing in your relationships. If that doesn't work, try small-claims court.

-- Though only your skin, sinews, and bones remain, 
    Though your blood and flesh dry up and wither away, 
    Yet shall you meditate and not stir until you have attained full
     Enlightenment. 
But first, a little nosh.

-- Accept misfortune as a blessing. 
   Do not wish for perfect health or a life without problems. 
What would you talk about?

-- Be here now. Be someplace else later. 
Is that so complicated?

-- There is no escaping karma. 
    In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never
    visited. 
And whose fault was that?

-- The Torah says, "Love they neighbor as thyself." 
    The Buddha says there is no "self." 
So maybe you are off the hook.

-- If there is no self, 
Whose arthritis is this?

-- Wherever you go, there you are. 
Your luggage is another story.

-- Do not let children play contact sports like football. 
   These only lead to injuries and instill a violent, warlike nature. 
Encourage your child to play peaceful games, like "sports doctor."

-- The journey of a thousand miles 
Begins with a single “Oy”

DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)

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