Where Are You Going?

Michael McCann was a great man. I adored him unabashedly. He has been my hero, my confindant, my greatest supporter and my link to a simpler, more gracious time. He grew up during the Depression and after his own father ran off, lived in a telephone office. He didn't grow up in a home with music and had a job when most kids today are playing little league.

He loved my grandmother, Betty, and through his career took her off on a life full of adventures taking them from Kokomo, Indiana, to Rio de Janiero, Tehran and Siagon. They raised two girls (one would become my mother), little diplomats in their own lives. The adventures eventually ended and Betty lost her battle with cancer, almost 20 years ago.

Though Betty would remain the great love of his life, he did marry again (twice) and spent his later years in a small town in Missouri. I've spent a lot of time there, including one week alone with him while his wife was away, just hanging out and telling stories. My favorite memory of that week was us hiding from a tornado (sirens and all) in his basement - two thrill seekers standing next to an open door with a black sky swirling outside.

All of us, mom, Gail, Seth, Aaron and I were very, very lucky to have learned so much from him about his life, the world, and how to really tell people how you feel about them. Above all, be kind, be courteous, be careful...and don't be mean.

He left us Monday. I hope that if there is a way for him to be with my grandmother again he has found her. I miss him already.

Where are you going, where do you go?
Are you looking for answers, to questions under the stars?
If along the way you are growing weary, you can rest with me
until a brighter day
It’s okay, where are you going, where do you go?
I am no superman
I have no answers for you
I am no hero, oh that’s for sure
But I do know one thing for sure
Is where you are, is where I belong
I do know, where you go, is where I want to be
Dave Matthews Band