‘A long long
time ago
I can still
remember how
That music used
to make me smile
And I knew if I
had my chance
That I could
make those people dance
And maybe they'd
be happy for a while
But February
made me shiver
With every paper
I'd deliver
Bad news on the
doorstep
I couldn't take
one more step
I can't remember
if I cried
When I read
about his widowed bride
But something
touched me deep inside
**The day the
music died**’ ~ Don McLean
Dennis captured a shot of this cantankerous monkey swinging from a coconut tree.
My elder cousin, Dennis Varella passed away early this week.
It was a sudden and unexplained. I was teaching a class in Saudi Arabia, when
my expatriate cousin sent me a text message on his demise. I was stunned,
however I had to brave on and continue teaching.
A few months ago, he stopped sending out his weekly e-mails.
He would share his childhood memories, filled with wonder, joy and sorrow. It
read like an interactive history lesson, yet filled with family value and a
notion of ‘the good old days’. He was attending to his convalescing mother during that time, traveling from west to east daily. I was keen to read them every time I received
them. His wife Lemar shared with me how he would dedicatedly read my daily blog
almost everyday. For this, I am touched for I have borrowed some of Dennis’s
photographs. He also creatively produced interactive multimedia presentations of his research on family history. There will be a screening of some of these films at this Sunday's memorial - which will be a day of joyful remembrance.
I will miss this writer’s musings, yet I will still have a
treasure trove of beautiful memories to relish when I like. Rest in peace, dear
cousin.
