So today, much as I did at Tyler's funeral, I would like to at least try to celebrate Tyler's life instead of mourning his passing. These words are not new. I spoke them at Tyler's funeral. They were the best I could do then, and I think they still capture some small essence of the bright and shining shooting star that he was.
"The words I am about to read are from Cheryl and me together. We we were with him when he came into this world and we were with him when he left it - in the same position, being rocked in Cheryl's arms.
Thank you all for coming to celebrate Tyler's life
today. Please know that Tyler was happy
until the day he died. I was fortunate
enough to have spent much of the last two days with him and he was the same old
Tyler, talking about everything he was up to and looking forward to all the
things he was going to do y in the future - going to Vegas on our father/son
trip, seeing Blink 182 in concert, watching the Aggies play football,
living in his new digs with Cade and
walking to school from there, he was excited about life and what God had in
store for him.
I hope that we can think about all of the joy he brought
into our lives in 20 short years and focus on that as we work through
this. Cheryl says that Tyler was a
shooting star, an amazing sight, something that is so enjoyable to behold, but
then gone in an instant I choose today
to rejoice about the life my son lived and to rejoice knowing that he is in
heaven and I will see him again one day.
Tyler is my son, Tyleru. is my
buddy, Tyler is a role model for me regardless of how backwards that may sound,
Tyler was one of my best friends, Tyler made me angry at times like all sons do
but we always made up and we were always able to set things right. Tyler was the best son a father could ever
hope for and nothing will ever change that.
I would like to share some memories that are special for
me Tyler came into this world on September 28th 1990 and he did it with a tan,
his doctors thought it was jaundice but we later found out that was just his
skin tone and he loved to brag about how dark he would get and how his friends
would accuse him of being Hispanic. In that hospital room he was first
introduced to Courtney. She was a
precious little two year old that told him, "up baby" and when asked
to say who she was said "I me. Now
up baby" It was the beginning of a
perfect brother sister relationship.
Tyler was always a sweet little boy with a masculine
appearance My friends would see his baby
and toddler pictures and comment about how he looked like a little man and he
did. He was the most precious little boy
you ever saw. He loved to play and could spend hours being Mr Pillowhead
outdoors at Nanas fighting the bad guys.
The pillow his head rests on today is the one that he wore back then -
thank you Nana.
When he was a toddler he did have some unique ways of
pronouncing some words. He couldnt
combine an S with any other consonants so a snake was a nake and a steak was a
take. Ls were an issue for him too. His legs always itched after wearing his
soccer shin guards and he would always ask Mommy to wotion his wegs. I can't tell you how many times we heard him
complain about Courtney by saying Tortney is divin me tazy. He always had to have a sord, especially the
ones at the circus that lit up. He loved his mighty morphin power wangers And with the soft way he pronounced his Rs
there was always a little hilarity at the dinner table when he asked if he
could have a fork pronounced, well you get it.
He was a very vocal kid and happy to share his
opinions. One day at the Maverick game he
and his mommy were sharing a bathroom stall.
Tyler felt compelled to make an observation by saying "mommy yah
bottom is enormous". Cheryl said Tyler it is not. His response "yes
it is just wook at it, go on wook it, it's enormous". Imagine the surprise on the faces of the
other women when my wife who weighed 100 lbs dripping wet walked out of the
stall.
Tyler had an uncanny gift of being able to take anything
you said or did that amused him and tweaking it a little and then re enacting
it to poke a little fun at you, often with hilarious results, if you were a
friend of his you know exactly what I mean.
And he had an unbelievable way of remembering anything you said or lines
from a movie and the ability to recall a perfect line or the perfect movie quote
to make us smile and laugh out loud.
Tyler did leave a note for us, and it was a beautiful
note that had some awesome things in it about his friends and family. One thing
he said was that he and I are just alike and while we do have some similarities
there were definitely some differences.
So let me start with the things that are alike and then I will finish
with a few ways we were different"
Ways we are alike:
-We love to have fun and we love to make people laugh, we
don't like to pose for pictures and will always sneak a goofy face in which you
noticed if you watched the slide show at the visitation yesterday.
-We both love music, Tyler more than me. It seems like I got an email about once every
two days with a copy of the bill for music he had bought on ITunes. He used to
wear me out with all the music he bought
And he loved all kinds of music - from Bob Marley to Blink 182 to CCR,
to Sublime, to Pepper, to Lynyrd Skynyrd, he loved so much. Some of his favorite memories were concerts
and the times he and his friends were there
-We both love sports, if you were in Tylers house
watching tv you know that most likely it was on espn. The espn sports center loop was the Muzak in
Tylers apartment. He and I loved to talk about football and the last real
conversation I had with him was about how this year is going to be the YEAR for
the Aggies he couldn't wait to tail gate with us on campus this year for the
first time. We checked out the tailgate
spot last week and he and Cade had already decided that they would be riding
their bikes there and playing football with all their buddies on the rugby
field next door.
-We loved cars,and we love our trucks - Tyler was never
happier or more surprised than on his 18th birthday when we surprised him with
that big Dodge truck
-We both loved being outdoor, his best days were outside
hunting, being in the pool, doing anything at the lake, you name it, he was up
for it. He was deadly with a rifle and
many a pig and a few deer regret the day they walked in front of him. His accuracy with the scatter gun as he and I
liked to call it was awesome. Dove and
quail from Lubbock to Kaufman feared his name.
There was nothing better for him than to launch himself into our pool in
multiple, somewhat acrobatic forms, that were best executed when Madre was
floating in the water accompanied by much screaming of TYLER!
Some of our best times together were in a deer
blind, we had always been told to move
slow and be quiet but the two of us together seldom achieved that goal. One cold January morning as it was getting
close to time to leave the blind, we saw two small does. I looked at Tyler and
made fun of the slow motion that we were taught to use to turn to see a buck,
and then I stood up and waved my arms like crazy. The does never moved and Tyler and I erupted
in laughter. The fun we had in those
blinds while playing silly games beats any 12 pt buck that would hang on a
wall. The last time we hunted together
was at uncle bills a place that he dearly loved. That day We saw a group of
pigs and agreed to shoot at the same time.
We both shot at the same time and we both hit a pig but when we got
there we discovered just one - with two bullet holes. We had forgotten to call
the pig we were shooting That was so
typicAl of our fun times together - lots of hilarity much of it unintentional.
Family vacations were huge for him. When he was young and his parents were poor
his vacation was likely to be a trip to his great grandmothers house in Georgia
and a climb up Stone Mountain. Later we
were blessed to take fancier vacations but no matter the destination We all had
a blast. The last vacation we took was
June of last year to Breckenridge. We
had planned to go to Florida but the oil spill caused a last minute change of
plans so off to Colorado we went looking forward to cool weather. Boy did we get it, raining and 45 degrees the
first day there, six inches of snow that night, and Tyler, who lived for a warm
day at the beach, was not happy. So we
decided to hike on a trail and when we go there it was unpassable. Again, Tyler was disappointed but didn't let
it get him down. He hiked out in front
of us down the road back to the car and before we knew it he had burst out in
song, stripped down to is underwear in the 30 degree weather with sleet hitting
his body and danced all the way back to the car. You never knew exactly what you would get
from Tyler, but you did know you would be entertained!
He loved all holidays,especially Christmas. And if there was a holiday it had to have a
tradition. Traditions were serious
business and usually doing something once made it a tradition. He loved to decorate for Christmas and he
loved the nutcracker draft on the day after Thanksgiving and he always told
Courtney that he got the best ones. He
loved going to Northpark, listening to his father complain about putting lights
on the house, driving through Grand Prarie lights and listening to me complain
the whole time, seeing the nutcrackern ballet and of course spending christmas
eve and day with family. Cheryl will
never forget the day I insisted that she told him the truth about Santa. He wasn't in junior high but let's just say
he was getting close. He was devastated.
He went away to try to make sense of it all and his first question when he returned was "I guess you're the easter
bunny too". That was and is what
Tyler was all about. A gentle soul with a child's heart.
We both loved the Aggies. I came to know the greatness of
all things Texas A&M late in life but Tyler converted early. He loved the university and everything it
stands for. He was a great Aggie and I
know at muster this year every Aggie in this room will, when his name is read,
softly answer here.
A few Ways we are different
-Tyler had a big chest and a flat stomach. I have a flat chest and a big stomach. He loved to work out and he was proud of his
appearance. I am proud of my appearance
but dread any time spent with weights.
Tyler has hair and I obviously do not.
He loved his facial hair and his scruffy face and was so proud that his
beard was finally filling in, and this is so Tyler - the last time he came home
he texted me and sent me a picture of his Fu manchu and said what do you think
mommy will think of this? So much like
Tyler. He was always dreaming up new beards to get to his Mother. I think the mutton chops connected with a
chin strap were next on the agenda.
-Tyler thrived on excitement. I am happy with a quiet
afternoon watching the golf tournament. He chose to live life on the edge. He
loved the thrill of doing crazy things - parasailing, zip lines which were a
little to sedate, wiping out on a wakeboard you name it he wanted to do
it. He even admitted to me last year
that he and his friends had jumped off the roof of our house into a 5 ft
swimming pool. That made me mad enough
but guess how mad I was when he said daddy, it was from the second floor!
-Sports, let's just say they were huge differences
here. Tyler played t ball, baseball,
soccer, basketball, and football on organized teams. He loved to compete at any sport and was not
a good loser. He refused to be on
anyone's team in pool nukem who did not meet his standards - Courtney knows
exactly what I mean. Me on the other
hand, well let's just say I was usually picked in the last round in PE for any
team sport. I lived vicariously through
him in all the sports he played. He was
the sports warrior I always wanted to be but never could.
-Tyler was a sweet gentle soul who thought first of
everyone else and last about himself. Behind that big chest and that scruffy
face was a person who cared more about others than he did himself. He was all
about other people and making them happy and making them laugh. Tyler's heart, unlike the Grinch's heart, was
two sizes too big.
-Tyler loved his friends and he loved being with them. I
love my friends and I do love being with them but Tyler whole life was
surrounded with his buddies male and female.
Tyler had over 800 friends on
Facebook and you can bet they were truly friends. If you've read his wall you know what I mean. In kindergarten Tyler would walk by the
other little girls in his class as they were waiting to be picked up and they
would all come out to him and say bye
Tyler with grins on their faces.
He was always at sleepovers or having them at his house. Nick, Kent, and Scott were his constant
companions, and while George Matthews and I were utter failures coaching them
on the gridiron, those boys dominated the basketball court. Once we moved to our new house he loved to
have the boys over to our house to swim in the summer and occupy my man cave in
the winter. I will be honest, it got old sometimes seeing multiple teenage boys
standing at the fridge looking like
lions watching the lame antelope on the Discovery Channel. But I would give anything to relive those
days and have Zander, Miles, Michael, Grant, Terence, Dustin, Timmy, and yes
you Judson back in my house.
And then in college there was the formation of the wolf
pack. Cade, Blake, and Tyler were the
three amigos. Your rarely saw one with
out least one of the other two. Their
bond was and will continue to be unbreakable.
If you saw them in action you know whatI mean. THank you Blake and Cade for everything you
meant to Tyler. And please know how much
you meant to him.
And then there was
Katie, the biggest friend of all and the
love of his life. Katie you truly
made him happy and the last day I saw him he talked of you, and how well things
were going for the two of you and how he really thought you and he would be
together. Thank you for being there for
him and for us.
Tylers favorite verse was Psalms 119:81. He loved it so
much he had it tattooed across his heart which cause quite a bit of drama in
The Johnson household. His mother told
him that he had defaced the temple and there was much said and done about
that. But now I think I understand and
now we wish we would have just accepted him for who he was and how he chose to
express himself. That verse says
"My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in
your word"
I feel that these words are so inadequate at describing
Tyler and everything he was. I have
selfishly focused on myself and Tyler here and if I left anyone out here it is
an unintentional slight - all of you meant so much to him - granny jane, daddy
mack (who he called D Mack) nana, granddad, james, stacey, austin, kaylee,
karen, blair, william, brittany, todd, amy, jake, zane, gigi, and roy boy. He loved you all.
I could stand here for days and not describe all that he
is and all that he means to all of us.
It sounds so cliche but it's really true - he was the perfect son,
grandson, cousin, friend, boyfriend, and on and on and on and on. And again, i don't to be a giant cliche up
here, but please take something away from Tyler's death and use it to make your
lives better. Love your family and friends, make sure they know you are there
for them every day no matter what and like Tyler did - seize the day.
I would like to close with a note that is printed on the
back of the program because it perfectly describes for me how I want to
remember him.
What is Death?
Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I and 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 easy way
which 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.cr Let my name be
ever the household word that it always 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"
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