Mike Warner - Class of 1977
Our lifeboat is so much less full...

This is so tragic and so sad. It was the one of the first thoughts I  had upon waking. I came back to this letter and investigated more to  get a a more full picture and idea of who this letter and story was  about. This is what I have found. There are short stories to be found  in the local Boise paper.

The story is heartbreaking. A short video of the Pastor who did the  service in Boise. Terry went missing. He was hanging on, reaching out  and coming back up but then a very sad tragedy occurred...

http://www.2news.tv/news/34936764.html?video=YHI&t=a

So the beginning of this long day is a day for me to reflect. We lost another young classmate. A Fellow. I remember the soft spoken Terry from our 'family' on the hill. Terry's story is a wake-up for me that the homeless people we encounter are us. They are truly us. They are our friends... our ex's, our parents, our brothers and sisters...our loved ones.  Sometimes we loose track of them but we do still care. 

And it's so easy to look aside or blame them before we see the whole picture. And unless we are close, or reach out and ask, it's so difficult to know the story. And one night Terry just wanted to find a warm place to sleep. Jeanne must feel so sad being so nearby and witnessing this and having kept an eye on Terry in her community. I can see how this must be affecting her and why she wrote to Mark.

Not sure how I can reach out other than to write to the reunion folks and 
share these photos and reflect a little.  My thoughts are on the family I don't know and Jeanne who I perhaps know and very much on Terry who I knew by being in the same huddle on on those foggy school days between classes. Men of the Hill.

There's a familiar face and story today for those we know as homeless. That is now Terry's face.  We are truly all in the same lifeboat. And sometimes our shipmates -  like the man named Terry sitting alone in the bow - signals to us to stay safe, keep our family safe, hold on, for there are many many deep troughs amongst the swells and waves. Terry's ocean is one we all know to some extent. We now know it more. Terry was vulnerable to being hurt.

When I see Terry's face I just feel so much empathy. In his eyes I see his wonderful personality. A Sensitive fellow. I see vitality to survive and thrive and I also see loneliness. I imagine he was loved but sometimes hard to fathom. I think he was someone that cared about his peers and about all of us over his lifetime. In this last photo of Terry from the internet he is wearing an orange robe. Orange.

How does that touch you? It touches me in a way I didn't expect at first. I see it not as clothing for an accidental inmate. No, far from it. Orange brightens Terry and looks natural on him- it belongs on him for another reason-it places him in our special fold. Half Moon Bay High School. One of our special class colors. A color we saw all around us as we sit in the bleachers together. It identifies us.

Yes Mark, I agree, Very Deep. Terrance Fitzpatrick. Goodbye fellow. 

Our lifeboat is so much less full. Our newest missing passenger.

larger photo

God Bless You Terry