The World Lost A Hero

The world loast a hero but Heaven gained an amazing angel. 

Tyler and I went to grade school and high school together. He was a year younger than me but our grade school was so small that all of the grades all hung out together. We played on the same volleyball team, hung out outside of school together sometimes, knew each other for years. In high school, we hung out in the same big crowd of friends (we both had a few different groups of friends) and at times when we would hang out, I would be the only girl present (which I loved.) I remember many nights where a bunch of boys including Tyler would come down to my parent's house and watch movies while I cooked for them. I would be the only girl and they would order me into the kitchen. Tyler was FAMOUS for telling women to go "knit me a sweater." He told me this DAILY.

Tyler and I had the same sense of humor. We laughed at everything, made fun of anything, and had inappropriate comments and gestures. He had a giggle that was infectious. He could make an entire room burst out laughing just by giggling. There are so many stories of HILARIOUS things he would do to people. He LOVED to prank people and play jokes on him. The most famous prank he did in my mind always happened in the summer. We have a carnival that comes to town every June. Tyler's parents' house is one block from the square and the carnies would LITERALLY park their campers in his parents' backyard. Tyler would thrown golf balls onto the roof of their campers at night while they were sleeping. It would sound like hail :) Just a bit louder.

I could go on and on about the stories. Seriously... I have SO MANY pictures of fun/funny stuff that we did but they are all on my "film" pictures that I need to scan into the computer. I will put them in a blog someday. Tyler joined the Marines after high school. It was all he had wanted to do. I remember how when he got back from boot camp a bunch of us girls were like, "Man, Ty looks hot!"

I crashed some party at the Metamora Legion one night. Ty invited me. I think it was either a "Going to Iraq" party or a "Welcome Home" party. Naturally I would be dancing inappropriately.

In December of 2005, a few days before Christmas, a truck that Tyler was riding on in Iraq on his second tour overseas with the USMC was exploded by a suicide bomber. I remember my mom telling me. It's one of those moments where you remember little things... I remember where I was, how I was sitting, the time of day, etc. Horrible. Just horrible. The following July, 7 months later, Tyler came back to Metamora for his first visit back. It just so happened that I had made the decision to move to SC a few weeks prior. I obviously hadn't seen or talked to him in months and his appearance had changed completely. But he came up behind me at a get together at his mom and dad's house and he said, "Hey loser. Why in the hell do you think you have to move to SC?" His voice had not changed at all. He even giggled that giggle. I knew the old Tyler was still in there no matter what he had been through. He was the same friend. It was all I could do not to cry. Instead I fired back with some name calling and smart alec comments.

I loved that even though I lived in SC (and he did not approve of that) we still talked and texted and kept in touch. We saw each other almost every time I came back into town. I could go and on with the stories about him that make me smile but this blog is already turning into quite a doozie. At the end of the day, Tyler was the type of person that would do anything to make you smile. He never wanted anyone to feel sorry for him. He made funny jokes about his appearance. One time I was talking to him in a crowded room and he said, "I can't hear you. I don't have ears." And another time we were talking about sunglasses and he said, "I can't wear them. I don't have ears." And then giggled. He may have lost part of his arm on one side and fingers on the other but he was still able to "goose me" better than anyone. 

One of my favorite pictures of Tyler and I at the Marine Corps Ball in November 2007.

On December 30, the day of his visitation, I went to Metamora with Mom and Dad. We went to the funeral home about an hour before the visitation was supposed to end. Seeing all of the pictures, videos, all of his guitars, his motorcyle, his Marine Corps gear, was all a great tribute to him. I love his family. His mom and dad are amazing. Some of my favorite random days were days that we would sit in Tyler's mom's kitchen and just talk. We would love to just hang out and talk. Or the times where we would all drink in his parent's garage. I loved the talks with his parents. Now that I have kids, I can not imagine living another day on this earth without my child by my side. It literally makes my soul ache. As I hugged his mom, that is all I could think. Someday soon I hope to go see his parents and just catch up. I think of them everyday. The worst part of the day was actually seeing him in the casket. It's one of those times in life where I just felt frozen. I wanted to leave... I wanted to run... far away. But instead, I just kept standing there staring at him...not wanting to believe the reality. And , then, as I looked to the right of the casket, his best friend, his partner in crime, his male version of a soul mate, Buddy, was standing there in his Marine Corps dress blues guarding the casket. It literally broke my heart.

The funeral was the next day on New Year's Eve. This is what we saw as we drove into town...

Thousands of flags lined the streets and town square in Metamora. A man that does not even know Tyler brought all of the flags into town and 100 volunteers helped place them into the frozen solid ground. 

The funeral was lovely. It was laid back and very Tyler. The people that spoke about him touched on all of the fabulous and amazing things about him. Someone like Tyler can not be summed up in a short speech. Three guys talked about him...all of them from different aspects of Ty's life. It really was wonderful. For me, the hardest two parts were when they closed the casket and the folding of the flag and presenting it to the mother. 

Anytime I leave a funeral, I have a sense of peace that overcomes me. The feeling of dread that I had been carrying around for days was gone. I was at peace, at least for the time being. As we walked out of the funeral home, it had started snowing. It was beautiful. I decided shoot a few pictures to remember the moment by...

The last flag I saw as I drove out of town...

Tyler, You are missed more than you will ever know. Thank you for being hilarious. Thank you for being you. Thank you for being an inspiration. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. Thank you for the random texts, pictures texts, and drunken phone calls. Thank you for fighting so hard to come back to all of us after your injuries. We will see you again someday.

You are loved....