August 16, 2024

“Our love is the faith that keeps on burning.” – The Alarm

We know your father the best, the most intimately, because we were fortunate to be those he loved and sought the most. He was a most generous person but was especially giving of us. We know him from different perspectives and phases of his life in the various shades of light that he illuminated before us with his mere presence and goodness. The constant, though, with your father, my incredible cousin, is his pure intent. BTW, I’m not mixing tenses here for those parsing the grammar – he remains present with me, with us.

If mentioned ad nauseum, please bear with me once more: Miguel blessed me in our youth in ways I couldn’t realize at such a young age. We were merely living life, poking fun at each other, and opining on the latest album of some alternative rock band. His influence would not be realized until adulthood, and I never had enough time when we did see each other. We spent our youth together and adulthood trying to catch up.

We had kinship, deep and rich, that transcended descriptions like “brotherhood,” “best friends,” or “favorite cousins.” Yes, our closeness embodied those labels, but it was much more; there was a spiritual bond that pulled and stayed with us.

I’m only now, almost two years later, finding it possible to explain our shared experiences in a way not too mired in sorrow or sentimentality. We adore music, and I want to trace for you, his family, the path that built our incredible camaraderie.

By 1987, we were nearly 19 years old when The Alarm’s album, “Eye of the Hurricane,” was released. Actually, I spent my final summer with Miguel working at the bakery. We’d both just graduated from high school, and I’d be moving away to Dallas in the Fall of that year. We’d become fans of the Welsh band a couple of years earlier and “Rain in the Summertime” was their first single release off the new album. I remember huddling together in front of the TV at Mamita’s house watching the music video. Damn! We loved it! I mean we absolutely absorbed it because there was no band more promising, earnest, and unpretentious as these rockers from Wales.

When I think of the song, there’s a long open road where the blood pumps with optimism, joy, and creative sparks too hard to keep up with. That’s your life out there, my Sanchez-Ornelas family, wide and full of possibility on the black top highway to a place and life you can call your own. Go grab the car keys, enjoy the music, and sing in our place.