On Friday, February 19th 2010 my 39 year old cousin passed away from an aortic aneurysm. In his eulogy on Saturday, February 27th, the pastor repeatedly stated, “Greg was a good man!” He died of natural causes, not by violence or crime but of natural cause, a huge feat to accomplish being a black man anywhere in America. The minister wanted to point out two things. One, he was a good man in that his family and friends loved him. He took care of people and would do anything to help someone out. He always put others before himself. And two, he was not out in the streets provoking mayhem, gambling, dealing drugs, fighting, involved in gangs, or in prison. He was a good man.
At the funeral his friends almost numbered the amount of family members present. His friends loved him so much they paid for the repast to be catered and held at a local café. And because they loved and respected him beyond measure, they extended a hand of shared fatherhood to his only teenage son who is now left without a biological father but plenty of father figures to carry on the torch.
The day before Greg passed; he and his friends were planning a trip to Tennessee from St. Louis to bring his dad a truck. This is a truck Greg purchased for his dad simply because dad said he needed one. Greg purchased the truck, put it in the shop, and was now planning to make the 4.5 hour drive to Tennessee to deliver the truck to his dad who moved to Tennessee to take care of his ailing mother. The trip was planned for Saturday. Greg passed on that Friday. Greg’s friends informed his dad that they would still bring the truck to Tennessee as planned because they treasured Greg and would do anything for someone who has done everything for anybody.
That’s what love is to me. That’s what true friendship is to me. That is what I want my dash to say about me when I am laid to rest. What have you done for someone else? What have you done to change someone’s life, add value to their life? Friends are people we choose to be in our life. If we are chosen to be someone’s friend, it is because we have added something to that person’s life. We are here to enhance one another not tear down and destroy.
When I leave this earth I would like people to say I was a good woman. I gave my all to help someone else. I helped to make them a better person. If I have not accomplished that then I have not fully completed my assignment.
In Bishop Walker’s tweet devotional on Sunday February 28th he referenced Galatians 6:7. You will always reap more than you sow therefore; sow whatever you need more of.
If you need more love, honesty, friendship, and trust then perhaps that is what you need to sow more of. Be a person after God’s own heart. It doesn’t mean we have to be God but we should make more efforts to be like Him.
And that’s Tam’s 2 Cents.
RIP Gregory Peete, Sr
July 17, 1970 – February 19, 2010
“A good man”
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