29 March, 2026

Abe,

Palm Sunday and another trip around the sun since we gathered in your honor. Been meaning to put something down on paper so here goes.

In thinking of you I recall your integrity. It was right there on your knuckles, your calloused hands, your crooked smile, your chipped tooth. We bonded in our concern for protecting the powerless, and in recognizing the need to challenge those who fortune had blessed, to remind them that “we all do better when we all do better”.

You walked the walk, brother. A character with character. I admired your fearlessness in pushing buttons, pulling those triggers, showing us how to be better men, better fathers. I regret that I didn’t push back more often.

Been a rough year, rough God riding all over this land. Could use another 21st Century Outkast in a worn out ballcap.

Always remember our time together at Floydfest, hear your drum playing along to Townes.

I believe we’ll do it again someday and look forward to sharing those melodies and rhythms.

Until then, know that you made a difference.

I miss you my friend.

Justin

"To Live Is To Fly"

Won't say I love you, babe,

Won't say I need you, babe,

But I'm gonna get you babe

And I will not do you wrong.

Living's mostly wasting time

And I waste my share of mine

But it never feels too good,

So let's don't take too long.

You're soft as glass

And I'm a gentle man;

We got the sky to talk about

And the earth to lie upon.

Days, up and down they come

Like rain on a conga drum

Forget most, remember some,

But don't turn none away.

Everything is not enough

And nothing is too much to bear.

Where you been is good and gone

All you keep is the getting there.

To live is to fly

Low and high,

So shake the dust off of your wings

And the sleep out of your eyes.

Goodbye to all my friends

It's time to go again

But think of all the poetry

And the pickin down the line.

I'll miss the system here

The bottom's low

And the treble's clear

But it don't pay to think too much

On things you leave behind.

I may be gone

But it won't be long

I will be bringin back the melodies

And rhythm that I find.

We all got holes to fill

Them holes are all that's real.

Some fall on you like a storm,

Sometimes you dig your own.

The choice is yours to make,

Time is yours to take;

Some dive into the sea,

Some toil upon the stone.

To live is to fly

Low and high,

So shake the dust off of your wings

And the sleep out of your eyes,

Shake the dust off of your wings

And the tears out of your eyes.

Abe never failed to leave an impression on myself or my boys.  We are all heart sore for those who love him best. 

One of my favorite memories of Abe is from back when we all lived a bike ride from one another in Boulder and he would find ways to connect with my son, a toddler at the time. One day he invited us over for skateboarding lessons for my two year old (no one is surprised to read this I am sure!) and he spent an hour or so patiently guiding and supporting Liam in getting the feel for the board's movement. I think he became Uncle Abe that day for us. Years later, during the pandemic, he would hang out with Liam, then a pre teen, over zoom and discuss skateboarding physics and philosophy. We were quite sure he was Uncle Abe at that point.

A second favorite memory is from just before those Boulder days when Abe and Susan came along on our Habitat for Humanity trip to Honduras as part of their honeymooning. We spent our days pickaxing ditches and mixing cement with shovels in order to set up a foundation for a home. Somehow or other, Abe became our water crier whose job was to tell the team of volunteers to "drink water, people". He called it out religiously every fifteen minutes keeping time with, I'm sure,  a timepiece somehow both fancy and rugged. I can still him hearing saying it and, in fact, his voice echoes in my mind when I remind people to hydrate.

For someone who left such an impression, I have found that I have surprisingly few photos to share. But his memory is sure bright in our hearts. 

Sending so much love, today and everyday to come, Dev, KC, Liam & Caleb 

I miss you so much, I can't stand it

Seems like my heart is breaking in two

My head says no but my soul demands it

Everything I do reminds me of you

I miss you so much in this house full of shadows

While the rain keeps pouring down my window too

When will the pain recede to the darkness?

From whence it has come, and I'm feeling so blue

Ain't goin' down no more to the well

Sometimes it feels like I'm going to hell

Sometimes I'm knockin' on your front door

But I don't have nothing to sell no more

Seems like the spirit is pushing me onwards

I'm able to see where I tripped and went wrong

I'll just have to guess where my soul will find comfort

And I miss you so much when I'm singing my song

Ain't goin' down no more to the well

It's that sometimes it seems I'm going to hell

You'll find me knocking on your front door

But I don't have nothing to sell no more

Seems like my spirit is pushing me onwards

Though I'm able to see where I tripped when I went wrong

I'll just have to guess where my soul will get comfort

I miss you so much when I'm singing my song

I miss you so much I can't stand it

Seems like my heart is breaking in two

My head says go, but my soul demands it

And everything I do reminds me of you

Everything I do reminds me of you

Everything I do reminds me of you

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Van Morrison

Reminds Me of You lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Dad