Kennedy's Bench

                         

in 2023, a good friend of mine, Kennedy Ermolik, passed away. he was only 21 at the time. it was always hard for me to process, mostly because he was all the way in California, so the truth of the accident hadn't fully hit me. that was, at least, until this summer rolled around. ever since his passing, Kennedy's mother, Nancy, has sort of taken us in as her "children by association", as Kennedy was an only child. as a friend group, we've decided to go to California in the summer, around Kennedy's birthday to spend time with Nancy. In California, there's a bench that was built in memory of Kennedy. it's a simple, concrete bench with a small QR code on the middle divider, and a plaque on the middle back. the plaque reads as follows: 

In loving memory of Kennedy Christian Ermolik

2002-2023

You were more than just somebody I was destined to meet.

we were tangled up like branches in a flood.

 the sky above, the earth below.

you will never be alone.

you can always reach me 

your love will light my way.

To those that didn't know him, it's a jumble of words that might not make sense. but to us, to those that knew him, it's a collection of some of his favorite song lyrics; a memoir of what he loved. 

beside the bench, there's a sad, barely there tree that we've deemed the "beer tree", started by our friend Twix. we would visit the bench every night, and every night, without fail, Twix would bring a Coors Light (or CL Smoothie, as he called it) to the bench, and pour it in the same spot where that sad little tree decided to form. 

though I was only there for a week, this bench felt like my whole summer: a way to reconnect with the friend I lost, and the friend I've missed since the accident. a physical representation of him, and a way for me to finally be able to come to terms with his death. 

the aforementioned bench, located in Roseville, California