Until We Meet Again

It's a grey, rainy morning here in Vermont.

Back in the summer of 2010 I used this blog to share some memories of my uncle Vince O’Brien shortly after his death in June at the age of 91. He was a professional actor of quite some note and I wrote about his colorful life & career, about large families & the joy of growing up in that kind of magical environment….and how hard it can be to say goodbye to special people in your life. Not long after I posted that blog I received a quick note from my cousin Patrick Halloran…whose mother, like mine, was a sister to my uncle Vince. Pat wrote: That’s as much as I could ever hope for someone to write about me when I pass. Thanks Ed. It's been a couple of weeks but this put it back in perspective.

No one knew that just six short months later we would be saying goodbye to Patrick himself as the result of an automobile accident not far from my home here in Vermont. So today on the one year anniversary of his death I am trying to put his life in perspective in a likely feeble attempt to make good on his wish.

Because we (The O’Briens) are such a large family, Pat & I didn’t know each other well when we were younger. Being separated by several hundred miles & more than 20 years of age will do that. He and his brothers & sisters would see my family occasionally through the years as we would get together with cousins, aunts & uncles for some kind of family function or another, but it was only within the last 10 years or so that Pat & I got to solidify a relationship that was far too long in coming. Pat was the founding member of Ceann, a great & quite successful party band that billed themselves as “Yankee-Irish Drinking Music” and just by that billing you can imagine that the band gave their audiences some pretty wild shows…..I was lucky enough to be in an audience or two once in awhile & can attest to the fun we had! That band is really what brought us together after so many years. Ceann would perform once or twice a year here at McGrath’s Pub at The Inn at Long Trail and I would never miss a show. I would always have Pat in the radio studio with me whenever he came to town & he would always have a song or two to sing……but always toned them down so as not to upset the FCC….or threaten my employment! It was at McGrath’s that Pat performed his final two shows on January 28^th & 29^th. It’s hard for me to believe as I sit here writing this that today marks the one year anniversary of his death. But it also marks the one year anniversary of remembering his life…..the life of a very gifted & talented young man who touched many, many lives of his own. A life that was cut far too short, but not before it left an indelible mark in the hearts of those that knew him best & loved him most. He was simply an amazingly wonderful & talented guy. We Irish find it hard to say goodbye on any occasion, for any reason…..let alone for someone taken so quickly and so young. Instead, we say “until we meet again”. And so Pat, until we meet again; I raise a “Parting Glass” & say:

Oh, all the comrades e'er I had,
They're sorry for my going away,
And all the sweethearts e'er I had,
They'd wish me one more day to stay,
But since it falls unto my lot,
That I should rise and you should not,
I gently rise and softly call,
Good night and joy be with you all.

……and until we meet again may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.