Post #16

My favourite cousin and co-madre, Little Josie ( i am her daughter's godmother, a baptism back in our youth me:17 , her:14) called to tell me Andrea's (her other daughter i am not godparent to) boyfriend was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was on his way from Santa Maria's main drag which turns into a long and foggy journey thru farmland then onto the Guadalupe projects to see his sweetheart (my cousin's daughter). when he lost control. His body was thrown into an irrigation ditch and they didn't find it until the next day. I talked to Andrea straight from my heart and told her that I would make a memorial for the side of the road and for her to Stop blaming herself, which is what she had been doing. Horrible shit like this happens and it's nobody's fault is kinda how i put it.

I decided on the standard cross but with a ribbon with his name on it. I looked around the yard, found some treated 2x4 and some starter board and set out to make my first death marker, ever. Kinda creepy but I felt honored and I wanted it to be pretty.

We went to the sight of the crash to stick it in the ground...green motorcycle parts littered the ground and flowers wrapped in plastic floated in the clear water running in the bottom of the ditch. She wrote a message to him and left a magic marker tied on so others could follow suit. It was all very sad and only Pop-pops enjoyed himself, trying to jump into the water and to get his shoes as muddy as possible.

Later that day Andrea called me to say we had to take it down. A member of his family called, offended because they are "Allelujah's" and don't believe in that. She asked me if I could maybe make something else. Like what? Oh heavens, does his family at least believe in clouds - maybe I could jigsaw out some clouds. Ended up her mother brought me a wooden heart mounted onto a metal spike and we screwed on the ribbon with his name....It was Jhonatan, which is the Columbian version of Johnny Boy. May he rest in Peace.