It was hot that evening in August (almost a month to the day after Lilyfest), but I wore a black velvet jacket and long black pants anyway. Just because. 
                                                                          
          I sat down as near to the back as I could get.  I didn’t know anyone. They had a slideshow running and familiar music coming from the speakers above me.  After they opened up the divider and added several more rows of chairs into the lobby they began telling stories and it all fell together.  Dale was happily married eleven years and his daughter sat a few rows in front of me.  His Morningstar family spilled out into two additional rooms of the funeral home.  He had love, fatherhood and friendship. 

          Dale loved acting, especially in high school and was an extra in the 1994 movie Shawshank Redemption.  He often told the story of how it ended up on the cutting room floor, they said.  Dale had talent, he made beautiful jewelry with his Viking family and that is what brought him to Lilyfest.  It was Dale I saw that day, the Viking, Elric Morningstar.
And I missed my last chance to say "Hello."

Above photos were taken from friends of Elric's MySpace page.