Memo to the Afterlife
From David L Lewis – the little brother of Terrance Richard Lewis
DATE: December 11 2023
TO: The ‘Great Cloud Of Witnesses’ of Hebrews 12.1
RE: Terrence “Terry” Richard Lewis
Passed from this life December 11 2003
Dear dearly departed,
On theory he’d still be five years older than me, thought I’d check in with you folks on other side of Jordan as to how my big brother is doing. Does he still want to be called Terry? Am I still only one who could get away with calling him Terrence Richard? How about his piano playing – does he still just sit down and play anything he’s heard only once? For that matter, has he had time to actually learn to read music? And, how about his signing, surely you have him in the choir? You know I will be rejoining him someday, hope you don’t expect any of that music stuff from me.
No idea what he’s told you folks in Afterlife about his childhood, but suspect his perspective is not much like how this little brother saw him. Should tell you I was in absolute awe of him throughout my life. I grew taller than him, but he was always bigger. In almost every way he was the opposite of this little brother.
My brother was absolutely fearless. When our uncle Ralph built a playhouse in backyard Terry would jump from its roof, over the sidewalk, and on to the garage roof. He was citywide Champion high driver in high school. Once in grade school he came to my defense, climbing down from his perch on the building’s roof. It is possible that me looking at him so high up is reason for my Acrophobia.
Terry was popular and well spoken. He was President of first graduating class of O’Fallon High School in St Louis. He spoke at first graduating class of St Louis Christian College. And, as something of a connoisseur of such things, he was a very good and well liked preacher. He was also a decent writer, at least he was bether than me.
When he married at 19 (seemed old enough to me) I got his room, which included a stash of 1950s Playboy magazines he’d hidden away (I knew where). He was too young to marry and I was too young to appreciate the value of his stash.
Naturally he was Best Man at our wedding. As it is with life, ours went in different directions. We crossed later as we made various efforts at different business ventures. We made a good combination. As our mother pointed out, I am good with having a macro view and he saw the micro. Nothing much came of any of it until we both ended up in tax return preparation business.
It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but just recently our sister Diane and I were discussing something and I thought, ‘I’ll call Terry”.
When he departed our world for yours I was not able to be there. We had an agreement that whoever died first had to buy White Castles for the survivor. Do hope you guys really serve them in heaven.
Whenever I get there you folks up there in the Afterlife shouldn’t compare me with Terry, nor compare me with our sister Diane for that matter. They both have done a better job living this life that I. I’m just me, a long story which Afterlife will learn soon enough.
Just writing so that some future generation may know about Terry when they get up there.
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