As your eyes closed one last time, the song “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley was playing.

About five years after you passed, at a time when I had felt entirely unraveled, I heard that song playing in a restaurant. All of the noise around me and in my head was silenced. I knew it was you. Now, whenever I hear that song, I think it’s you reminding me that “every little thing is gonna be alright”.

You were my grandfather, but in reality, you were more like my father. For all the times he wasn’t there for me, you were. You were the one to drive me to school, tell me stories, and teach me about your favorite things like flowers, trees, and airplanes. You were the one who showed me Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler. You were the one behind the video camera making sure my childhood would be remembered and you were the one sitting in the stands at my swim meets with your own stopwatch in hand.

I wish I could talk to you now that I’m an adult; now that I understand a bit more what the world is made of. Sometimes I wish you were here to tell me what to do. The more that I understand, the more I admire the man you were. The more I see the real world, the more I admire the way you walked through it.

One of my favorite stories to tell about you is a time when you were in the National Guard working as an air mechanic. Your boss came to you with a promotion opportunity and you, being always so true to yourself, said to him “who is the best at what I do?”

“Well, you,” he answered.

“Then why would you want to change that?” You said. The integrity you carried yourself with and the passion you had for what you did is unmatched by anyone I’ve ever met.

There is so much about you that I aspire to be. You were the smartest man I ever knew. It seemed like you knew everything about everything. You were sure of yourself, and you stood strong in the person you were.

Whenever I see a feather on the ground, I am drawn to it. I pick it up and I think of you. No particular reason why; perhaps it reminds me of the “Three Little Birds” song. Maybe I am just searching for you everywhere I go, but I like to think of it as you saying “hi” and that you’re still with me.

I will hold you and your memory close to my heart until the day I die. I will live my life in a way that celebrates your honor. I will remember to be brave, gather my feathers, and sing “every little thing is gonna be alright”.