18 Years Later

Chapter VIII
18 Years Later

So here we are.  On the final chapter.  I'm not sure what taste in music that Margaret had, but 'Sailing' by Christopher Cross (who still tours) is one of my favorite songs from 1980, and I think she'd like it.

Looking back, I realize it was very hard on me. The first six months were hard, but somehow, someway, I was able to cope with everything and actually not cry when I thought about Margaret after those first six months.

I remember about a year later I called Liz from school (Yearbook class) and asked her where Margaret was buried.  She had told me where she was located.  Finding Margaret at the cemetery in Novi, MI wasn't an easy task, as all the grave stones are flat.  So I remembered what Liz had told me and finally found Margaret about 45 minutes later.

"Boy, you sure are one hard girl to find Margaret."

That was my first words to her back in 1996.  I'm not sure what I talked about, but there was a lot of crying and a lot of getting out of breath, but I knew it was something I had to do.  It was the closest I had been to her since camp 1990.  I slowly and gently placed a flower on her tombstone, wiping away tears as they dripped to the ground.  

There I was, that 10 year old boy looking up and seeing the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen.  There I was 6 years later looking down at the ground, at a memory, at a friend.  I stayed there for about an hour.  I still visit Margaret from time to time.

It has been 18 years since her passing and I think of her often.  It was a very difficult time in my life, one that I've never shared until now.  I'm glad three weeks later I'm able to write what I've always wanted to for the past 18 years.

These people that I've met at CF camp will always be friends to me, no matter if I do or don't see them in person.  Each person means something to me, some in different ways, but this is why I wanted to start this Camp Onkoi Benek memorial, to remember, and to show others how much they meant to me.  These were my Wonder Years.

Somewhere. . .  Margaret is sailing.

THE END

20 Years Later. . . Remembering Margaret

Back to. . . 

In Memory: Camp Onkoi Benek

'Sailing' by Christopher Cross (1980)