A Eulogy for Jay Sharp
Jay Sharp was my friend.
And I feel very heavy today. You see, I'd only actually known Jay for just over a year in person, though through his family, I've known him for a long time. Because of this, I didn't belong to any one of his circles of friends, and I had the happy opportunity to meet people from all of them, and to get to know these people from the various aspects of Jay's life. Consequently, I carry with me from Boston a very great burden - a great weight: of love and concern; of support and tears; and of the sorrow that heals. And I pass that on to you, now. Because that which weighs me down can build you up. That through shared care and grief, we can, together, come slowly to rediscover the joy and vibrant life that was so present because Jay was with us.
I want to explain to you how Jay touched my life, because he touched the life of every person he met. To do this, I want to use the vehicle of the "I Love Project."
For those of you who've never been to Jay's web site, he was always looking to the future, and always looking for ways to understand this world we live in. For this project, he invited people to email him ten things that they loved, and he would put them on his site. Jay has a wonderful quote which describes the goal:
By taking people's input and putting it up for other people to see, I'm guessing and hoping that there will be a mix of surprise, amusement, tenderness. I'm hoping to paint a picture of human-ness. To help see love. To better recognize love when it happens. Or it might all be trite and silly. I'm waiting to see.
For me, Jay Sharp was a role model: a model of tolerance and respect; of acceptance and dialogue. You see, Jay and I rarely agreed on anything. But it didn't matter how ridiculous he thought your opinions were or how ridiculous you thought his opinions were. He would accept you for who you are and accept your right to be different. He was so solid and confident in his own self and his convictions that he was able to face the world with the respect of an equal.
But, though he was very convinced of his own positions and beliefs, he would always talk and dialogue and debate and argue. This was so indicative of the quest of his life: the quest for understanding. And he was willing to ask anyone, and to listen and discuss their ideas - all in the attempt to understand more, and through it, to become a better person. In this search for understanding, Jay was a model for me.
The "I Love Project" evinces this great quest for understanding through respect. But the phrases from the web site: "I love tofu." or "I love walks on the beach." don't sum up Jay very well at all. To describe Jay, you would have to say, simply, "I love."Scott Rieker
22 July, 2003
Pine Lawn Cemetery, Rapid City, SDScott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott Rieker Scott