On being a sweethearted person, and touching lives

At Alysia's memorial, we gave out rubber bracelets, in rainbow colors, with her name, dates and the words "Strive To Be Happy" surrounded by paw prints. Each part had a meaning: The rainbow of GLBT; the paws of Bella, her adored mutt (a be-wowa); the quote from Desiderata.

One of Alysia's close friends, Ashley, lost her bracelet. It was knocked out of her car, near where her boyfriend lives near Santa Monica. Ashley was very upset, we didn't know anything about it at that time.

A couple of days later, we got a phone call from the folks who made the bracelets: wristbands.com. Specifically, Shirley, who had worked with me to get them just the way we wanted them, which took some time, and then had to be rushed, etc. Shirley had made a very hard job easier, with her manner and compassion, and when we were done had wished us well, and that she would hold us in her heart and prayers. I never expected to hear from her again, but here she was on the phone, asking if we had lost a bracelet, and, if we had, did we want the phone number of the person who had found it?

We couldn't say yes fast enough, and Shirley gave me the name: Darrel Marsh. Now, before I go on, I have to tell you that wristbands.com is not a little place. For Darrel to call in and get the ONE person who not only knew about the wristbands, but how to get in touch with us, was nothing short of fantastic.

It turns out that Darrel had found the bracelet in the street, and recognizing it for a memorial, had read Alysia's name, counted the dates and recognized the rainbow, and wanted to return it to its rightful owner. When we found out where she found it, we called Ashley and she fessed up, and so soon after, she got her bracelet back.

The chain of coincidence here is long enough that I'm tempted to use the word "fate", or "God". In any case, this part of the story is now finished, with the letter that came today from Darrel, saying in part, "Thank you for sending me a bracelet, which I will cherish as a reminder of how easy it is to be kind and thoughtful of others, and how very short life really is."

Darrel and Shirley, you have no idea how much you touched our lives. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.