Immortality
(How
to live forever)
The list of
Immortal people is long and extends throughout known history. Sun Tzu, Jesus,
Mohammed, Guttenberg, Louis Pasteur, Lord Nelson, George S Patton Douglas Mac
Arthur, Xerxes, and King Leonidas, the list is endless. All these individuals
have something distinctive to all of them; they are all remembered. In some
cases, these people have been gone for thousands of years but remembered
nonetheless and spoken of regularly.
My Fathers,
Father, Benjamin Franklin Crawford, was born in Kansas in 1866. My Father Eugene Oliver Crawford was born in
December 1908, and I was born in 1955., my daughters were born in 1981 and 1984,
how do I know my grandparent, and my father still lives. Various reasons I look
like my father. I sound like my father,
especially when I have to be “serious.” And at special times I open my mouth,
and my father comes out as in “Son, what did you do? Wait, take the time, and
get your lie straight.” That is how I know they still live because the words
still live inside me. The memory of how
these flawed human beings navigated through this life is an example of what to
and what not to do.
These are just memories of my family. How many
more stories of what mom and dad in their lives are remembered. How much more multiplied by the billions that
have followed to this date. I initially spoke of historical figures in the
beginning. Characters from which our cultural consciousness has grown. My
experience is not unique. I have seen cultures that have annual pilgrimages to
the gravesite, remembering lost loved ones.
In some Asian traditions, the graves of the departed are cleaned as part
of their remembrance. The young
participate as these traditions are hands down to posterity.
Remembering the courage of our heroes makes
it a virtue of having courage. Knowing that someone persevered when it seemed
impossible, Leonidas and the 300 will never be forgotten, as their deeds live
on long after their death. In something like 480 BC. These deeds live on as do
the doers of these exploits.
All the people
and their deeds are remembered and will be for an exceedingly long time. It is our
mission to have a presence in our families' lives in particular, and society in
general to have an impact that is memorable and at the same time to remember
our loved ones to keep their spirit alive. It is in that way we carry the banner
of our family’s legacy forward for future generations. I was so moved by talking to Theodore and Tabatha
as this is was the very 1st time I have viewed them and formally
introduced to them as their Grandfather is now my mission to become indelible
to them so I will not fade away into a distant family history. That is a daunting
task as I have so much time that has gone by where I was out of contact with
them. The good thing is that my daughter
Jennifer has seen them and is a marker to a grandfather that existed only in
legend to this date.
What I can say is remember your family,
love your family, and keep the feelings sharp noting only the good things what happened
in your time with your mom. This is a marathon and not a sprint. The time you take to reach some sense of
normality is yours and yours alone. Its your pace that counts and that you own
totally.
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