Concrete Angels
B.B. King is gone. Well, gone from this world physically but he is still here in his music. Check this out.
I was riding the motorcycle last week and passed a cemetery. I saw some concrete angels guarding a gravestone and it got me to thinking. Why do we put up gravestones? The remains we bury will turn to dust eventually. We preserve them , embalm them, make mummies of them but eventually it all turns to dust.
Why do we put concrete angels on guard around tombstones? The ‘never lived’ guarding the dead?
I guess the goal is to be remembered but it doesn’t work most of the time. Most of us will be forgotten within 1-2 generations. I barely remember my Great Grandfather. He used to poke me with a cane when I was little. He laughed and I remember that but that is really all I can recall and I have nothing of any of my ancestors past that other than what I can find out on Ancestor.com. It’s cool to go back and dig up facts and info about my blood line but I don’t know of any value since I am not a prince waiting to be a king. I’m not a Mormon where blood line has to be traced to gain admittance to the temple so for me it’s just for fun that I even trace it back. Almost everyone is forgotten.
There are exceptions and I can name a few folks you will know even though they passed a long time ago and we don’t know where they are buried. Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Mary, Joseph, Jesus (there is an empty tomb for this one – Praise God!).
Some we know the location of the grave but we don’t have to go there to remember them. We turn up the music. John Lennon, Elvis, Jimmy Dean and now B.B. King.
So why do we remember some and not others? Obviously it’s about influence. It’s about how we choose as people to remember some of them. The Bible has been preserved (some would say by divine intervention) and the stories are told over and over to our children. We’re told to do that in the bible. To tell our children is a command.
We are reminded by some of the influence those that just passed had on us. Here is Eric Clapton for 1 minute. Check it out.
So, do you want to be remembered after your passing? I do and I believe that the best way to do that is to help others any way I can. I will be remembered by those who love me and are closest to me of course but we can have a larger reach than that. It does require us to get out of our comfort zone and do things where they can be seen an felt but it does not have to be big things.
When my dad passed we went to the funeral of course and the pastor who was there to comfort us gave me some great advice. I was about to speak to those gathered and he said two things to me. First, breathe. If you get choked up and have to pause, just breathe. Second, enjoy the stories. There will be people who remember your dad and will come up and tell you stories. He was right on both counts. The stories are precious to me and I love that I got to hear them.
Family is easier but who do you remember most outside of your family. I have a list and I can share a few to get you thinking. Not all of these folks are gone but they will be remembered by me as long as I live.
Jacques Palmer – Chemistry and Physics teacher in high school. Not my favorite at the time but one that taught me the value of study and how to study. He taught me to use a slide rule too 🙂
Earl Hooke – Algebra teacher who taught me the value of story and and how to control a room in a good way. Humor went a long way in his teaching but he ruled with firmness and an expectation of excellence.
Dave Terrell – Favorite professor in tech school. He taught me to divide and conquer. Figure out what is working and what is not. Focus on the right things and ask lots of questions.
Paul Gregg – Great boss and leader as I was growing to be a good engineer. Go back to the basics and make sure you do them right every time. “The fuse protects the wire, not the component”.
There are more but time is short and I have to end this someplace. I took Eric’s advice from the video and got the album BB King – Live at the Regal but I did it via Google Music All Play. For $10 a month you can stream just about anything. I’ll bet it’s out of stock just about everywhere else right now.
We’ll always remember you Mr. King. Thanks for the music!!
Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson
678-231-1578 Cell
