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"Hell boy," Russell said breaking the silence, "when I die, I'onna die with a full stomach You can bet yo ass on that Yeah, I done see too er And I don't wanna see you be one Eat up, boy," he said patting my back "Eat it up and never look back!"

I sed hard as a distant freight's horn blew, startling ripped roan escaped a ain cleared his plate

Russell, Diane, my father anda rose atop Shannie's casket When the last passed, Russell and my father stood and paid their final respects My heart pounded as they stepped aside My legs felt like led as I struggled toaround itself There, in front of me, under dozens of roses rested a symbol of how coldly indifferent nature is No ae that fact that Shannie is dead No ae the fact that she'll eternally rest here, forever banished frory to cry As if watching myself from far away, my hand placed a rose atop Shannie's casket I watched it slide under the flowers and rest atop the cold ," I heardaway

I stood with my back to the casket as Diane shared her last hter When Diane joined Russell, my father and myself, the four of us walked arm in arm up the narrow path to the cadence of Diane's sobs Atop the hill, I peered over round creer Shannie to her final resting spot Russell would have been disappointed if he'd known I looked back

After the internotten that there are railroad tracks so close" We had gathered in the ceatory reception

"Irony is alive and well," a stuffy cohort of Diane's responded He was a double chinned, slender shouldered, potbellied pear of a ue capable of only terrorizing students half his age within the halls of acade a flat tire and ade of honor; any type of manual labor was the duty of the 'menial class,' he pontificated