R.I.P. Daniel Nelson

Daniel Nelson will most definitely never be forgotten, he will live inside of our hearts forever. He was a lot of things to a lot of people… a son, a brother, a nephew, a grandson, a cousin and a friend. Those who knew him knew that he was a kind and gentle person with a heart of gold and a sense of humor that could put a smile on anyone’s face no matter the situation.

 I met my cousin Dan when I was about twelve or thirteen. I remember having nicknames for him, pretending to fight him, jumping on and off his back furiously trying to get the big guy down, and I never could. Amazingly, all of this was literally a couple days after actually meeting him. That’s exactly how he was, whoever you were, wherever you were, if you had met Dan, you instantly fell in love with him. When he was here, he was like another big brother to me.

 When he left to move back home, I remember being devastated, but like I stated before: he could always put a smile on your face no matter the situation. All I would have to think about for example was: me minding my own business watching television and this 200 plus man coming and sitting on me while eating something he found in the kitchen. When I asked him to get off, he would laugh, and then I would laugh, and then we would just continue watching TV with him still sitting on me.

 I guess what I am trying to say is that you always have to remember the good in people, because the good, always outweighs the bad. Dan had a problem, his problem was alcohol, and I know it was hard for him to take control of it. It is hard for anyone to take control of a problem that persists in their life. Even though I knew, I never judged him; it never made me think twice about the kind of person he was.

 Everyone has made mistakes at one point in their life… some, worse than others. We can’t judge people on their problems or the mistakes they have made, if we did, we would surely fall. No one is perfect, we all get scared, we get depressed, we all feel anger and sorrow, we don’t always know where to turn… sometimes, we turn to the wrong things. This is life, and we have to learn from our mistakes, and make these “wrong” things right. To quote the movie Batman Begins: “why do we fall? …So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

 Like I said before, everyone has their own problems. We have to look deep inside ourselves and solve them some way or another before they ultimately catch up with us. Some can terribly alter ones life and the lives of others without a moments notice. Never let them get in your way, never let them get the best of you... life is far too important.

 No matter how many mistakes you make in life, they can never define the person you really are. Our character, our passion, triumph, strength, courage …these are what define us, not our mistakes.

 I love you Dan (a.k.a. “Paul White”), and I always will. Everything is okay now.

 Love, Shaun

 "Because we do not know when we are going to die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well and yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood? An afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you cannot conceive of your life without it. Perhaps 4, maybe 5 times more, perhaps not even that.

How many times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty and yet it all seems limitless."

 The Sheltering Sky – Paul Bowles

The Crow – Brandon Lee

 “Something about life or death is beautiful, everyday the sun rises and sets as usual, and I’m convinced the consequence of common sense is loss or feeling, thoughts revealing, the cognizance of loss is healing.”

 SoulStice – Ebony Sea / North by Northwest – Solid Ground