Obituary for Rand, Bruce W.

click on title, above, to read...

i have a confession to make.

there was a young lady from the medical examiner's office (hereinafter m.e.) who helped me gather additional information i needed prior to the press accepting my submission (i.e., they needed to know the name of the crematorium so they could verify that he was, in fact, not among the living because they have gotten so many *false reports as jokes* from people...i cannot imagine, but then again...) when i called and told her why i needed the info (bruce's obituary), i made the comment about his memorial service and being under the impression his parents didn't care. she was very gentle when she said the following:

~*~*~*~
m.e.: oh, i beg to differ.
me: how so?
m.e.: his parents were very concerned, i spoke with them several times.
me: i heard his father wanted to have the county bury him in a "pauper's grave..."
m.e.: that's because his father, himself, is a pauper. he had no money for a funeral because he is very poor...
me: oh. (*silently freaking out, conviction is sinking into me like a fishing weight...*)
m.e.: ...further, his mother had bought a burial plot for herself in virginia, so they decided she would pick up his ashes and they would have a private ceremony there.
me: are you kidding me? oh, gosh...
m.e.: i am not kidding you, no. they were very concerned, they cared.
me: i have to tell you something: what i said was based upon what i was told by a reliable source - i was under the impression they didn't care...i am so sorry, this is so comforting to hear, but this is so convicting on me and my mouth, i can't believe it...
m.e.: that's okay - they did care; they were just poor.
~*~*~*~

now you know how quickly God tends to work with me when He wants me to have His perspective and not everyone else's around me. i quickly called charlie (the pastor who is helping me with the memorial service) and told him about our conversation, who then said he had to call the pastor at beacon because he had imparted the same information, so here we are, the *holy ones of God* filled with both comfort and conviction at the same time over thinking that bruce's family didn't care, when they truly did. they were just poor.

you know, the poor ~ the people i have the most compassion for and in my heart of hearts for the last five days, these particular ones i have felt the least for. it was such an important lesson for me to learn. even though what i was being told was true, it was not the entire truth. and that is what we should seek.

God, you give me grace; apparently what i need right now is Your mercy.

he's gone.

my employee, whom i referred to as vincent, but whose real name was Bruce W. Rand, was found dead today at the tropicana hotel casino in atlantic city. i don't have any more details than that, but i would like to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers.

i sent an email to one of you yesterday regarding some details of a conversation bruce and i had about two months ago wherein he told me he wanted to get a whole buncha money, go to the casinos and blow it all and then end it all (graphic details omitted). i don't know the particulars of what he did, but he accomplished what he had said out to do. i am totally numb.

may God rest his soul and i pray he is finally at peace.