Memorial Day Remembrance
Facebook is an interesting beast. One of the features it offers, which comes in handy if you're the forgetful type, is an automatic reminder of when your friends are celebrating birthdays. I hate to admit it publicly, but this little lifeline has saved me from the embarrassment of sending a belated card on more than one occasion.
The Sunday before Memorial Day, Facebook sent me the usual list of people celebrating birthdays that week with one surprise. I had a notice that Mary Ann Bartelt would be celebrating her special day on May 27. For those of you who are close to the life of Grace Church, you will remember Mary Ann died on Easter Sunday a year ago and has been missed by those of us who knew her every day since.
At first I just stared at her name on my screen and then I clicked on it. It took me to her personal Facebook page where I could see photos and comments from her family stretching back to 2009. At the top of the page, two people had wished her a Happy Birthday, clearly unaware that she is no longer among us.
Somehow it was oddly comforting to know her page is still out there. A little reminder of a time when she was too. I didn't mind at all about this glitch. It gave me a sweet moment to stop what I was doing and think back about her and then her husband, Jim, who died not long after she did.
In an odd twist of fate, when I moved offices last week I came across a scrap of paper where I had made jumbled notes about a longer piece I was going to write about this charming newspaper reporter who fell in love with Mary Ann many years ago. At the bottom I had written the words, "Jim Bartelt is one of the greatest storytellers on Earth." Aint that the truth. Sweet, humble, funny, that man lit up my Tuesdays with a twinkle in his eyes like no other could.
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Tuesdays with Jim
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If our number one goal for our own lives comes down to living them in such a way that we leave something tangible behind, they did it. This couple left behind changed people. Changed for the better.
And this is the heart of Memorial Day. It's a time to reflect back on what we've been given by the people we have known and those unknown who have contributed greater things on our behalf. Most importantly, it's a day to pay our respects for those who have gone before us by recommitting ourselves to living our lives in a way that would honor them.
Thank you, technology, for giving me a very human moment to catch up with old friends.
Jody
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