Gene Lyon, my Father at 17(and a note about loss)

The first time I saw this picture, I almost thought it was my younger brother, who died of Aids when he was 35. I never realized the striking resemblance he had to my father before. The next post is my father at about 38, in his prime, and the following is a poem I wrote about his passing at 69 from complications after heart surgery. Both of my parents and my brother are gone now, leaving me with only my younger sister in my core family. Although we know from a very early age that our family will be taken away (or that we will), we are always shaken and bewildered by the loss. There is no substitution for the love, kinship, shared experience and genetic heritage we share with family. This is true regardless of whether you grew up in a protected and totally safe environment or if there were disfunctional family experiences in your life. I am so fortunate and proud to still have my sister to share our family life. I cherish the moments when we are together and miss her when we are not. For me, the core value of a cherished family includes your peripheral family as well, aunts, uncles, cousins...all of those people who contributed to the fabric of the person you are at this moment in time. If you have people in your life that you've been meaning to call, visit or write, do it today. Make a memory.
Gene Lyon - Age 17