Bruce - A Eulogy

Last week I received some bad news that Bruce had given up the ghost, so I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a post to him and the good times we shared.

I was introduced to Bruce through my dad. We hit it off immediately but I don't think either my dad or I could have guessed how great Bruce would be for me and my family, and how long he'd be such a big part of our lives.

Bruce, well he was a character. He was a little older than was acceptable for most people my age, he had some scars and stains from the wrecks and spills of life, and had a pretty expansive trunk for his size, but he was my first and I'll never forget him. I never would have been able to get around without those first few times with Bruce.

He was a great listener, I could talk for hours with him, and say whatever I wanted and never worry about what he thought. He didn't require conversation, and could appreciate the value of silence. Sometimes we'd just sit there not saying anything, but at the same time we knew were moving in the same direction.

We shared some deeply sad moments, I could cry with him and he would just be there for me, but also some extraordinarily happy moments, I never sang louder than when I was with Bruce.

There were some troubled moments too, once we had an uncomfortable confrontation with an undercover narcotics agent when we were caught giving in to peer-pressure and doing some things we shouldn't have. We were a little gun shy for awhile afterwards, but we laughed at the experience later and became better because of it.

Some of our greatest triumphs together were conquering the elements. Once we found ourselves in the bleak, blizzardy, sub-zero temperatures of Wyoming, but we really bonded then. He kept me toasty warm through the whole ordeal.

The heat of Utah summers used to get to Bruce too. We had some scary health moments when he'd get a little over-heated due to over-exertion, but I was able to sit with him until he cooled down or help arrived.

I've moved on to a more robust and younger model now, but it's never quite been the same as it was with Bruce. He struggled with the peaks and valleys of life, stalling on the steep ones occasionally, and some said he wasn't fit to be with me, but his flaws made him lovable.

He did his best and never let me down. I am just so grateful to have had him as long as I did and he will truly be missed.

I don't have many pictures of Bruce, but this one captures his spirit pretty well. Even when he wasn't exactly clean, he had a certain glint and shine to him.


For those of you who got to know Bruce, feel free to post your comments below.