Memorial Service

Last night (December 29th) was the memorial service or "Celebration of Life" for a friend of mine that passed away. Actually, I came to know him through his wife. They both work for the Fire Department in Sacramento County. His wife and I took a class together which we needed for tracking large fire incidents and quickly became friends. Her husband had found out a few months earlier he had bladder cancer. He had finished up with his chemo treatments by then and was facing a major surgery - bladder removal. They were then to rebuild his bladder using some of his lower intestines at the same time. It was a long procedure but Peet came through it like a champ. Unfortunately they weren't able to get all of his cancer and he passed away December 15th.

The service was great - it was actually a relaxed atmosphere - his wife wanted people to come dressed in a way they would be comfortable. For some, that was in Class A uniforms, for others, jeans and a crazy shirt. I chose to wear a suit - slacks, jacket with a sweater top - instead of my Class A uniform. I wish I had actually dressed in a more casual manner. My hubby wore a suit and tie as he said he'd rather be overdressed than underdressed for this type of event. The bagpipes played later on and, when they played Amazing Grace, I started to tear up. That song gets me every time. Partly because of the music itself, but the story behind the song is such an amazing one in itself. Tracey, my friend, held up very well. She wore a sleeveless red sweater top (Peet's favorite color) with black satin pants and red satin shoes. She really wanted this to more of a party than a mourning. It was all about celebrating who Peet was and he was an all-around great guy. He will be missed by all.

Goodbye, my wonderful friend.