(no subject)
So, I did it. And I didn't even cry. There was such a strong presence around me holding me up and helping me get through it. Thank you all for all your prayers. They mean so much. I know I still hurt but I also know that Jeff will never leave me. He's been here, with all of us, through this.
Here is what I this morning to the faculty, students, and friends of Jeff Barnes:
Last night, I had a talk with a close friend about how I should go about talking about Jeff and how she deals with it. See, she’s a pastor at my church so, she has had more experience with this than I have. She told me that she knew I’d be nervous and I may start to cry in the middle of it but God would give me strength to get through it.
As I thought about that, I remembered at time about a month ago when Jeff and I had a similar conversation. It was the night before his big pro wrestling announcing debut. He called and told me how nervous he was, that it had just hit him that he was going to be doing something he always wanted to do. And he just wanted to do it right. Well, I may not have always wanted to speak at a memorial service for such a close friend, but I do want to do it right.
So, how do you begin to sum up Jeff Barnes in a few short minutes? As I thought about speaking today, I remembered what a great speaker Jeff always was. He had an amazing ability with words and could confidently speak to large groups of people. This is a time I need Jeff.
Jeff was confident in just about everything he did. He may not have been sure of every outcome but he knew that something good would inevitably come out of it.
He had so much confidence as a friend, too. He was such a personable person. All weekend, I’ve heard stories from people about what made Jeff Barnes a great friend. He chose me as his publicist, and someone else was is Siamese twin attached like this. He wrote serious songs with some people and hilarious songs with others. He made many prank phone calls and he could stare you down for several minutes without even blinking. And he loved mules. He would leave a 10 minute messages on his answering machine about mules.
And we all know he could do strange things with his toes.
He ate plants he shouldn’t have and even made some people believe that he was the heir to the Barnes and Noble bookstore fortune. He laughed a lot, cared a lot, and loved a lot.
All in all, Jeff showed us how to be a friend and how to love. It was never a doubt that Jeff loved him some Jesus, either! He had an amazing faith that he shared with everyone either with words or just his actions.
It’s so hard to put into words what he really meant to me and to all of his friends. He was just an indescribable person. Jeff and I could say so much to each other without saying hardly anything. My last memory of Jeff was this past Friday in the cafeteria. Jeff was being his usual self and making the rounds to tables and talking to all his friends. He was leaving the cafeteria and walked by my table. He got about 10 feet past, stopped, turned and walked to me smiling. He came up to the table and gave me a tap on the fist like we always did. And he so simply said “Street”, I replied “Wall”. We smiled and he walked away.
I am so glad that that is the last memory I have of Jeff. It was such an important thing between us. We knew with those words that we would always be there for the other. We were Wall Street.
Here is what I this morning to the faculty, students, and friends of Jeff Barnes:
Last night, I had a talk with a close friend about how I should go about talking about Jeff and how she deals with it. See, she’s a pastor at my church so, she has had more experience with this than I have. She told me that she knew I’d be nervous and I may start to cry in the middle of it but God would give me strength to get through it.
As I thought about that, I remembered at time about a month ago when Jeff and I had a similar conversation. It was the night before his big pro wrestling announcing debut. He called and told me how nervous he was, that it had just hit him that he was going to be doing something he always wanted to do. And he just wanted to do it right. Well, I may not have always wanted to speak at a memorial service for such a close friend, but I do want to do it right.
So, how do you begin to sum up Jeff Barnes in a few short minutes? As I thought about speaking today, I remembered what a great speaker Jeff always was. He had an amazing ability with words and could confidently speak to large groups of people. This is a time I need Jeff.
Jeff was confident in just about everything he did. He may not have been sure of every outcome but he knew that something good would inevitably come out of it.
He had so much confidence as a friend, too. He was such a personable person. All weekend, I’ve heard stories from people about what made Jeff Barnes a great friend. He chose me as his publicist, and someone else was is Siamese twin attached like this. He wrote serious songs with some people and hilarious songs with others. He made many prank phone calls and he could stare you down for several minutes without even blinking. And he loved mules. He would leave a 10 minute messages on his answering machine about mules.
And we all know he could do strange things with his toes.
He ate plants he shouldn’t have and even made some people believe that he was the heir to the Barnes and Noble bookstore fortune. He laughed a lot, cared a lot, and loved a lot.
All in all, Jeff showed us how to be a friend and how to love. It was never a doubt that Jeff loved him some Jesus, either! He had an amazing faith that he shared with everyone either with words or just his actions.
It’s so hard to put into words what he really meant to me and to all of his friends. He was just an indescribable person. Jeff and I could say so much to each other without saying hardly anything. My last memory of Jeff was this past Friday in the cafeteria. Jeff was being his usual self and making the rounds to tables and talking to all his friends. He was leaving the cafeteria and walked by my table. He got about 10 feet past, stopped, turned and walked to me smiling. He came up to the table and gave me a tap on the fist like we always did. And he so simply said “Street”, I replied “Wall”. We smiled and he walked away.
I am so glad that that is the last memory I have of Jeff. It was such an important thing between us. We knew with those words that we would always be there for the other. We were Wall Street.