Eric Spencer

Well Eric, Here we are. It has been 20 years. Memories of you are still bittersweet. I still think of you each time I stop to notice and photograph bugs, frogs, flowers, dandelions, and sunsets. I wonder how life would have changed you had you been able to stay. It has been 20 years. I still miss you.

What did you ever want for, Eric? Friendship and love? Excitement and adventure? What?
You left me with such a frustrating puzzle, which I know I will never solve, as maddening as all the existential questions that ever terrorized me in the night.

"No one has lived longer than a dead child, and P'eng-tsu died young. Heaven and Earth are as old as I, and the ten thousand things are one.", says Master Chuang. If so, you outlived all of us, and ol' Chuang died in infancy.

My dearest Eric...for me you will always remain that beautiful little redheaded kid. The way you would quietly and alone work on creating pictures that lived inside your head. You were given a gift from God in creating beauty. You obviously were given a love and appreciation of God's world and precious animals as well.I do so wish that I had known you as a young man.
I remember you in my prayers, and take comfort in knowing that you are in that place where only peace exists...only love...

Eric, you still comes to me in photos, sort of like a flip book. All the silly pumkins, and hats. That poor car you drove up to New York from Texas, via God knows where!!! I was so happy to have you visit that time, we still have the armidillo you gave to Chris. So sorry you got lost going back to my house, oops...my directions not quite up to par!! You know we all miss you and love you so very much. The world is way different without you. You are truly an original, never to be repeated, Love...

I remember in high school telling you to pursue your art. Your picture of Bridget sits above my computer. Your talent is missed. I grieve for your family. You've made me appreciate mine all the more.

Eric, I miss your eyes, the way you viewed the world. No one will ever see things in quite the same wonderful, wacky way. I really miss experiencing that. I aspire to adopting some of that view in my own life as a tribute to you, though. You have taught me...

Your red hair, freckles and that grin remain with me as the best of memories. You are missed, loved and will never be forgotten.

Eric, memories of you are bittersweet. I sit and savor them every now and then, like the chocolates we used to enjoy together. I would ask you what you wanted for your birthday. You would tell me you wanted something simple or silly: a snickers bar, a kit kat, or one year a dandelion. (impossible to find in Dallas in Dec. ) I mentioned offhand that it might be fun to have a snake. You gave me Argyle for graduation and never minded that I couldn't keep him. I admired your talent for...

The world is a sadder place for the rocks that will go unturned and the paths unexplored. For the critters that will go unappreciated and the humor that will go unshared, Eric, you are missed and loved today and always.