My Eulogy for Michael Bisbee – Emotional Earthquakes
All over the world, earthquakes strike random cities every few hours or even minutes. Check the USGS for real time updates. Most are small and some are big. We almost alwaze hear about the big ones, mostly cuz they cause damage to buildings. For the smaller ones, we only know about them if we feel it. Californians know what I’m talking about! Did anyone hear about the 5.1 magnitude earthquake in SoCal last week? *pause for crowd response*
Like earthquakes, death is anatural occurrence. And lately, death has been looming. The recent shooting in Orlando and the celebrity deaths of Prince and Muhammad Ali are some examples of how death affects us. Although the Orlando incident – and maybe Prince’s death – may not have been natural, dying is. Y’all may have been, or still are, affected by the shockwave of these tragedies, which are what I call: emotional earthquakes.
For me, the death of my awesome and talented friend, more like a cousin or even little brother, Michael Bisbee, caused an emotional earthquake within me. It didn’t hit me right away, but I’m feeling the aftershock, especially today.
There was a time when we hung out constantly. My favorite memory with him was when we snuck into Metropolis, an epic rave, at Candlestick Park. Bisbee, a few friends and I literally shimmied up a three-story support beam of the stadium to enjoy the music, the crowd and the moment. That night, we stayed up all night and hit up Ocean Beach as the sun rose. There, we celebrated life and had a memorable, male bonding session.
There are many other stories to share, but in the essence of time, I’ll share some great qualities about Michael Bisbee. He was very talented with his hands. He played the piano well and was quite the magician. He’d be like, “Yo, Rye! Check out this magic trick!” or “Listen to this new beat I made!” Whatever he showed me, I was surprisingly impressed. However, his flame went out too soon, even before his death. But let’s stick to the positive.
Michael Bisbee was often upbeat, but chill. He was a mellow, yellow, fellow. Lol.. Forever will the color yellow remind me of him. He rocked yellow like he was a daisy. Lol. If he were alive right now, he’d be repping the hell outta the Dubs! On that note, #LetsGoWarriors!
Little did y’all know, he was quite the ladies man, winning over girls with his quirkiness and boyish, good looks. He was a good wingman in the field and even displayed some magic. We frequently hit up parties and hung out with friends and he got along with everybody. He was a good person, a bit naive, and I often advised him on life and love. I wanted the best for him, as I do for all of y’all in my life.
Michael Bisbee’s death is still unreal and sudden. Like earthquakes, you’ll never forget the big ones. For me, I’ll never forget Michael Bisbee and he’ll alwaze be remembered in a positive way. From this point on, not just now, but for future reference in y’all own lives, we rebuild and move forward just as if an earthquake hit – an emotional earthquake.
I’ll miss you, bro! One love!
Oh yeah, he used to flow (freestyle rap). He was alright; better than me. Lol. And on that note, here’s a poem I wrote. Click here to read The Bisbee Flow.