Thursday, May 9, 2013
In Memory Today a good man will be laid to rest. He leaves behind the people that loved him, that respected him, that have years of memories with him. His parents will always remember their little boy, grown into a man and they will be proud of the person he became. They will be the bridge to helping keep his memory alive thru stories told. They will share everything they can with whomever needs or wants to hear. In their hearts he will always be alive. His wife will remember private times, sad times, maybe some hard times, but when she allows herself, she will remember the fun times, the laughter, conversations between them that people cannot fathom. She will remember what it is and was like to be loved. Kids will remember their dad. They will remember stories told, places visited, discipline given, lessons taught. They will remember the love of a father. Siblings will remember the growing up days, the rivalries, the teasing. They will remember details long forgotten. They will remember fights, remember jokes told, the love shared between them, even when unspoken. His friends, in-laws and other family members will remember the helping hand given, the stories, the gripes over trivial things later laughed about. Friends will remember special occasions shared, nights out...just the boys. They will keep some memories to themselves, but will share so much with the family grieving a great loss. There is another family though, one that some do not know as part of this mans family. The Blue Family.....some consider it a myth, most just don't understand the depth, the connection. The Blue Family runs deep and it never leaves. When you join the Thin Blue Line, when you marry into the Thin Blue Line, you are a part of that family forever. It doesn't matter whether you personally know the person, you know you have lost a member of your family. It doesn't matter how long since retirement, it doesn't matter how far removed, or how long since you saw the person. You feel the loss, you are all the above rolled into one. You are the work spouse, the kid, the sibling and the friend all at once. You are part of the Thin Blue Line, a brotherhood, all one together. This is not a profession but a way of life, a way of living you accepted on day one. And so you grieve like a family grieves, except so many cannot or will not openly show it. You will tell stories, share moments, you will think about all the same things his blood family thinks about. Do not let anyone take this away from you. I understand this, I am part of the Blue Line.....it runs through me as deep as if it were the blood running through my veins. No, I wasn't born Blue, I became Blue when my husband became Blue. I lived the life, supported the life, understood the life and accepted it all....good and bad. I live what this man's Blood family will learn to live now, and I stand with the Blue family feeling a great sense of loss of a man I did not know, but was part of my family. The Blood and Blue lost a good man, a man that should not and will not be forgotten. His years of service, his sacrifices, the good that he left behind will always be here. It lives on in all of us, in the community he loved, in the details we will see for years to come. It lives on in the stories and memories shared from this day forward. So to a good man, who has earned his place in the heavens watching over us...Thank you for all you have done, watch over your family, blood and blue, from up above, and don't worry, rest easy....we'll take it from here. RIP NYS Corrections Officer Shawn D. Wilsey Marcy Correctional Facility EOW 05-05-13 Always to be missed, never to be forgotten.
