Not so sweet 16...

Hi Everyone!

I told you I would update again! Actually a lot has been going on, but I wanted to wait until it was all over before I updated. I'll go in the order that the events occured.

This Monday (5/4/09) I got an email from one of my scout leaders. It was telling us that one of our leaders had passed away that morning. I was shocked. He has had heart trouble for a while, and was in the hospital, but last I heard he was doing fine. They told us that the funeral was not yet planned but they would like us to attend. I felt bad for his son, who is 12 and also in my troop. I can't imagine what he is going through. This guy was a newer leader, so I hadn't known him too well personally aside from the occasional troop related stuff. But still, this is the closest person to me that has died in the past 8 years.

I got an email on Tuesday that the visitation service would be Wednesday night from 6-8 at the chapel in the funeral home. I've never been to one, so I didn't know what to expect.

So when Wednesday came along, I was very nervous. I didn't want to do anything disrespectful or embarassing. I got to the scout hut and was relieved to see other guys wearing jeans with their class A. We just talked outside for a few minutes until the bus came and we got on. Everyone seemed in a good mood, which I was thankful for. I didn't want to get to scouts and all the guys be upset, because I didn't feel that way. I mean, yes I respected him and yes I was sad for his family, but it didn't hit me too hard.

Anyways, on the way there, we rode by an ambulance. It didn't have it's lights on so I didn't really pay much attention to it. But then I noticed something once it passed by. There was an old lady in the back, alone in the bed with the light on over her. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was open. She was pale, thin, and lifeless... Tucker also noticed her. I think we were the only ones. Then we passed again and saw the same image. Honestly, that wierded me out more than the actual service. It was just unexpected and I wouldn't have thought that you could see in the back window, but we did.

When we neared the funeral home everyone was silent. One of our leaders talked to us and said how much Mr. Hyatt cared about us and how he respected us, and we should do the same for him. We got off the bus, checked our uniform, then approached the building double file. There were a group of people outside talking and laughing and as we approached they stopped and watched us. We were pointed to a door on the far end of the chapel, and a man greeted us and showed us in. We we entered the chapel to find several people sitting in the pews. We were led up to the choir stands, and sat together as a group. The man leading us jokingly said "ok, all of the tenors here, altos here, and supranos here". He then told us how honored the family feels to have us there and that what we were doing in scouting was one of the best things you can do for yourself as a young boy.

We sat and talked quietly. They were dismissing the people to go into the room by rows. One of our leaders came over and told us that it was open casket. I kinda expected it, but was still unnerved by it. He asked if any of us had to go to the bathroom and Tucker, Nick, and I went. We exited the chapel room and found the bathroom. We walked in, only to be greated by Christian, Mr. Hyatt's son, at the sink. We said hey to him. We were all uncomfortable, not knowing what to say. We definitely were not expecting him to be in there. He asked jokingly if we came there on a field trip and I told him how we met at the scouthut and came as a group. Soon after he left, and then we headed back to our seats.

When it was finally our turn to go to the room with the body, they dismissed us by row but all together. We joined a line in the hall and looked at several pictures of Mr. Hyatt and his family. It made me think again about his son and how he was dealing with it. As we moved forward, I could see into the room. The open casket was the main focus, up against the back wall suurounded by reefs and plants. All I could see was the face, but even that was hard to look at. We contuned to progress forward and entered the room and were watched by the members of the family. When we got to Christian some of his friends talked with him and he was being his normal self. That's good. Maybe he is handling it better than I had thought. Then we passed Mrs. Hyatt, his wife. She gave us each a hug and told us how proud Mr. Hyatt was of us and how pleased he would be to see us here. Then, there was the body. I cannot think of any words to describe it, but lifeless. Well a lifeless dead body, no-duh. But he looked paler than the average person would look. He had no movement whatsoever. It reminded me of a movie prop, made to look like a person. I only glanced at him, because I didn't feel I was ready to stare. But what I saw was enough. I had a few flashbacks in the next few seconds as I passed of his voice, his face looking at me, his eyes. That was probably the hardest part. But once we walked out we waited for the rest then joined back on the bus.

It was an experience I won't ever forget. I have never seen a dead body before. It wasn't scary, but I was just nervous. Now that old lady in the ambulence, THAT was scary.

Ok, now that the sad part is over...YESTERDAY WAS MY 16TH BIRTHDAY! Wohoo! I got my gifts Wednesday after the funeral because I didn't want to get up early. I was surprised for sure. No, it wasn't because of the card, or mousepad, or Hannah Montana Movie, it was the phone. FINALLY! I got my own cellphone. And I won't ever have to pay for it, wellk until I move out of course. Free internet, free text, and free minutes for me. YAY! I only have 3 peoples numbers in so far, but I will get more. I took it to school today but was SOOO careful. I don't want it taken away. The only time I pulled it out was when I showed Olivia at lunch, lol.

After school today we had a Drama Club meeting to help out with the pricing for our yard salE tomorrow morning. I don't think I will stay the whole time (6am - 12:30pm), but I'm planning to come from 10 - 12:30. It will get me thespian points and plus I need to keep in contact with my drama teacher because I'll have her again next year.

That's about it for this entry. It's kind of long but these were very big events in my life that I had to record while I remember them exactly. Other than that, everything is normal. We had a parents meeting last night for the Europe Trip in 2010 that my mom and I went to. I'm really excited about going.

So yeah, that's about it!

Everyone have a great weekend!

Clifton

PS: I just remembered, I'm a finalist in the Danimals Video Promotion contest! One of 10! The finalists videos will be voyed on by Dylan and Cole Sprouse and the winner will get a trip to Los Angeles to meet them AND 10,000 dollars! I WANNA WIN! :)