To Ryan Hard

Last Monday, a great friend of my brother and mine passed away. I received a phone call from my brother while I was working. His voice was trembling while he was said, "Ryan Hard died last night." I was speechless and could not believe it.  The only thing I said was, "How?".  My brother did not know.   All he said was that his other high school buddy had put up on his twitter that Ryan Hard passed away. Messages on Myspace and Facebook were all over the network of Aledo Alumni, saying Ryan Hard died or Ryan Hard passed last night. 

I later found out that he actually died in the hospital that very morning and that the funeral was today, April 23.  Unfortunately, neither my brother nor I were able to go.  This guy meant a great deal to us and was a wonderful person to be around.  He was so full of life and alway put a smile on everyone's face.  Even though we could not be there, we want to remember him and say our goodbyes in our own way.

This was a little different from other forms of remembering a friend, but we hope that those who loved him and knew him like we did will alway remember him just like this. The video has been up for a couple of days on Youtube, and a few people have put some comments. I have known other deaths of friends and seen their myspaces and facebooks filled with comments and peoples goodbyes. It has gotten so much easier to relay information like this thanks to these websites. People can get on these sites and express their passion in saying their goodbyes and remembering their friends. Rather than a formal funeral, Ryan's family have decided to have a celebration honoring his life. There, everyone will get a chance to say what they want and talk about the good times they had with Ryan. Whether it is a blog, video, or a twitter message, we all want our chance to say something, and here's my chance. 

To Ryan Hard,

I will see you again