Thursday, November 19, 2015

Ten Years Ago: Remembering Tyler Today

Ten years ago today, the unthinkable. My nephew Tyler, gone. We never forget those phone calls. No, please dear God, no.

Last week on Veteran's Day, I was weeding and planting fall flowers at the flag memorial for Tyler in the park behind our house. About six boys were playing football in the park and as always, it reminded me of the old days when Tyler and my boys were among the neighborhood kids playing over there. I wished these boys could know about and be inspired by Tyler's life, and I wondered how I could tell them about him. Soon one of the boys fell and was crying, holding his head. The other boys all walked him to a picnic table and gathered around him. I took the opportunity to go see if he was ok, asking if they needed any help. I asked them if they knew about Tyler, who's name was on the memorial, and they did. I told them that Tyler had wanted to make the world a better place. Tyler used to play in that park just as they did, and one way that Tyler made the world a better place when he was their age was by being a kind person and a great friend, the kind of guy who was friendly to everyone, young and old. I told them I had been praying for them as I worked in Tyler's garden, that they would all want to make the world a better place just like Tyler did. I told them it made me really happy to see them doing by caring for their friend.  Maybe they thought I was a crazy old lady, but I was really pleased to have the opportunity to talk to them about Tyler!


I wish this plot was still just grass in the park and that Tyler was still with us. Tyler's life was far too short. His life mattered. He loved and was loved by many people. So much has happened in the past 10 years. His parents and siblings have suffered so much from this loss, but they have all come together and done some amazing things in his memory. The love they all have for each other is beautiful. I love and greatly respect them all.
What are we doing to make the world a better place?

Below are three links to my blog posts about Tyler 10 years ago, and the last one is a video we put together of clips from some of his skating and goofing around with our boys. I'm sorry, I did too much talking on it (it was 9 years ago!), but it's really fun to watch his antics! This video is the one at the bottom of the linked page.

Tyler Troyer, American Hero

A Letter from Tyler

People Magazine Tribute

Video:
In Loving Memory (The fourth video down on the page. The tiny little boy on the sidewalk at the end of the video is his little brother Jeremy, and the little boy that jumps on the dog pile is his brother Michael. This is on Michael Thorpe's website about Tyler.)

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