Riley Ignacio-Cameron’s service was this past Sunday; there must have been about 500 people there. The room was packed wall-to-wall with people. A room “full of broken hearts,” as Noli Taylor described it. I was surrounded by so many people that I couldn’t see who was speaking, but I could hear the love and the loss in their voices. Theresa Manning organized the food and the setting up; she was an amazingly calm and steady presence throughout the day. People stayed after and helped clean up. Prior to the service, a fire was tended in Riley’s honor throughout the week. Many, many people have done small and large acts of service this week. I have seen a few, but I know there are many more.
I have no direct experience with a loss such as this. I recognize that I am lucky in that. I don’t know how to comfort Riley’s family or the rest of us. I can only say that what I experienced at his memorial was honest, raw, and beautiful, and in hearing the stories people told and watching the slideshow of pictures, I saw that Riley had a rich life. Too short for sure, but rich. He had passions and pursued them, he learned skills and put them to use. He had a group of friends whom he loved and who loved him. He was adored by his family — and you can tell by his smile that he wasn’t above using that to his advantage — and he was adored by the families of his friends. He lived, and lived well; he was “in the river,” as my dad used to say. He did not waste his time here, and the knowledge of that heartens me in some small way.
The next meeting of the Aquinnah Library Book Group will be next Thursday, Dec. 29, at 3 pm. The group will discuss “The Beadworkers” by Beth Piatote; email aq_mail@clamsnet.org to register. The library will host a New Year’s Party on Saturday, Dec. 31, from noon to 3 pm. Enjoy refreshments and crafts for all ages; you can create your own New Year’s party hat and pop-up firework. Come by to celebrate the last day of the year.
I discovered the other day that Hilary Dreyer and her husband, Ben, whose last name I cannot remember, have moved to Aquinnah. Hilary worked for the M.V. Film Festival for many years, and grew up in West Tisbury. Ben works for a bank, or he did the last time we talked about his work. Anyway, I wanted to say welcome to Aquinnah to them, I am so glad they landed here.
So many wonderful ladies celebrating birthdays this week. Happy birthday to Theresa Manning, Dec. 22, Christina Montoya, Dec. 25, Naushon Vanderhoop and Jessica Kramer, Dec. 26.