Saturday, October 9, 2004
Prado Restaurant
San Diego, California

     Welcome

     Introductions and Sharing

     Mike in Another Place
             a poem by Ernie McCray

     Lunch and Conversation

     Mike’s Musical Selections
         What a Wonderful World  Louis Armstrong
         La Vie en Rose  Edith Piaf
          All My Exes Live in Texas  George Strait
          The Midges  Kenneth McKellar
          Kiss Him Goodbye   Steam

In one of the stars, I shall be living,
in one of them, I shall be laughing,
and so it will be as if all the stars
were laughing when you look
at the sky at night.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

     Mike was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1946. He grew up, at various rates of speed and for various lengths of time, in Whittier, Mexico, Berkeley, Scotland, Borrego Springs, Russia, the Bahamas, Switzerland, France, and, always, back home again in San Diego.
     Mike graduated from St. Paul High School and from San Diego State University. He also spent a very interesting year at the University of California, Berkeley. He owned and operated his own business for many years. One of his most unusual projects was assisting Russian state television in producing a mysterious, never-shown documentary film.
     He leaves temporarily behind him his family: Kathy, Anne, Sarah, Byron, Jamison, Vernie, Joe, Karen, Kelly, Maura, John, Jamie and Michelle.
     He didn’t live nearly long enough, but he surely lived well.

Mike in Another Place
October 2004
by Ernie McCray

I see Mike in another place
a place of peace
a place where Halliburton
and Ken Lay
drive Miss Daisy
where being down on one’s luck
ain’t called lazy
where waging war
is synonymous with crazy
where the line
between fantasy
and reality
is not one bit hazy
a place
where Linda Ronstadt
is queen
and Michael Moore
is king

a place that holds linebackers who happen
to be democrats
in high esteem
a place where there are no globalizing schemes
a place where a poor man can
dare to dream
a place where
the price of Air Jordans
doesn’t make parents scream
a place where children wear
George Bush
and Dick Cheney masks
at Halloween
although it is
deemed obscene but too hard to resist
if you  know what I mean
a place where
Condoleeza Rice
is a soul food dish
served with turnip greens
and pinto beans
a place where
gay people can
feel free to come out
and proudly show their stuff
and sing in the spirit of a new day
as long as it’s not
Y M C A
a place of exciting games
with Don Coryell
calling all the plays

a place
where everyday
Simon & Garfunkel
and Bob Dylan
come to play
a place where there
is no reality tv
no mickey d’s
no phony chickens at KFC
no hypocrisies
no bloods
no crips
no tripping
no blocking at the knees
no narrow minds
no inconsistencies
no elections stolen
through devious legalities
no shucking no jiving
no cheating or conniving

no big white hot deceptions
or little white lies
no cutbacks
that leave schools
deprived
and children’s needs denied
no bitches
no ho’s
in rap rhymes
and hip hop prose
no Saturday night specials
no AK 47’s
no television preachers
scalping tickets to heaven

I see Mike in another place
a place where
being smart as a whip
is hip
a place where he breaks an idea
down in his flexible mind
switching from the alphabet
to the numeric system
as he would all the time
you know
something like:

“The Chargers aren’t doing well because
‘A’ they can’t play and
‘2’ they’re no good anyway.”

“Bush is a problem because
‘A’ he’s not too smart and
‘2’ he has the soul of a day-old silent fart.”

“And it’s erroneous to consider him the education president because
‘A’ he hasn’t funded No Child Left Behind and
‘2’ with his war there will be No Child with a Behind”

“Our school superintendent is a bad choice because
‘A’ he knows nothing about schools and
‘2’ he’s a downright fool.”

I see Mike in another place
a place where
it’s okay to
when trying to drive a point home
slow from eighty
to five miles an hour
and not be stoned

I see Mike in another place
a place
in wonderful memories
a place where he will always be
with his beautiful wife
and beautiful daughters
and beautiful grandson
and beautiful son-in-law
always in their minds and souls
cheering them
supporting them
taking trips with them
watching games with them
watching plays with them
going to concerts with them
talking books with them
politicking with them
with all his heart
loving them

I see Mike in this place
looking in every face
and saying to each of us:
“Terrific. Just terrific.”