Going to your funeral now and feeling I could scream
Everything goes away
Driving down the highway through the perfect sunny dream
A perfect day for perfect pain

Look at all the people with
the flowers in their hands
They put the flower on the box
that's holding all the sand that was...
That was once...
That was once you

-From "Going to Your Funeral Part I"
By: Eels

A day like today makes it hard to make a convincing argument negating a higher power. There's the little things: like having Phil's car unexpectedly get overfilled, only to go home to get my car and discover that I had left my suit coat at home, which would otherwise have been left at home. Or the jack-knifed flat-bed trailer we saw leaving the funeral. Or the fact the weather got ugly right around the crash site. These are little things that could be past off as coincidence.

But then there are the big things. Like the unknown power that gave my Brothers and I the ability to sing better and stronger then we ever have before. Or the glorious sound of the saxophone choir. Or the sheer magnitude of people there to celebrate a wonderful life cut short. I don't care what you believe, there was a presence in that room, and I felt it. You can call it what you want, but it was one of the most spiritual things I have ever felt.

Branden is no longer with us, and this can never be changed. The pain and loss will always be there. But instead of focusing on this pain and feeling hopeless, I try to see what good has resulted of his life, and the impacts his death has made.

Knowing Branden has made me want to always search for the good in everything. I had commented earlier that we shared a similar optimistic outlook on life, but the difference between him and I is that he would go out of his way to impact people with this outlook. He would use his ability to inspire and cheer to help anyone in need.

His work ethic and passion for teaching is something that I will take with me and use every day that I teach. I almost feel like I'll be devoting my entire teaching career to being the teacher that I know he would be. If a generation of students won't be blessed enough to have Branden as their teacher, then the rest of us had damn well pick up the slack.

His death has resulted in an abundance of life and a deepened bond amongst friends. The way my friends, family, brothers and loved ones have supported me this week is nothing short of incredible. I feel blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

It does not end tonight. For those of you who were there, you saw how a life of love and passion impacted all those people. You saw the energy that one life could inspire. Now it's our turn to carry on that legacy. While in the coming months we may not utter his name daily, we must strive to live our lives as a daily reminder of what Branden stood for and what he meant to us.



Branden James Atherton
10/16/81 - 10/16/05