so i'm sitting here in the panhandle of texas early in the morning. not so typical for a saturday. and i'm thinking that i should go back to sleep sometime. but got too much on my mind. my lil cuz passed away yesterday. he was working on his truck and it ran over him. he was only 18. too short a life span. so naturally i've been thinking. about some of the crazy stuff he used to do. he was always the life of the party. never a dull moment. the kind of person you want to be around because you never knew what he was going to do. i would pour one down for my homie but he would say that it is a waste. so i leave with one of so many memories that he left us with...last summer he, his bro and i went to the lake. we're just taking a smoke break before we take a dive in the pollution. suddenly, the lake patrol comes by and we tell him that since he, at the time, was a minor smoking and could be arrested. eats the cigarrette. his bro and i don't notice this until later. when we ask where he put his cigarette out. he spits it out. so my cuz, my friend, my bro...wherever you are love you lots don't ever forget that. every moment we had was a blessing for me. i'll be searching the skies out for you. see ya on the flipside and i'll play your song for you...

gone but not forgotten
john robert payne
1984-2003