Regina

By K. Thomas Wise

I fell in love with a girl one day and was the happiest man in every which way. The day it started was September 25th,

when my heart skipped a beat as I was embraced with bliss. All I remember is feeling her cheek, so soft, so smooth,

while my knees went weak. The first thing I thought when I asked her to be mine was this girl is an angel and her

beauty is divine. I thought to myself I'll never let go until the hands of time start to tick slow. I would pray every

night that nothing will change as the worst thing that could happen would be to rearrange. She called me one

afternoon and said I'll be moving. I asked her when and then she said soon as her voice was so soothing. I said ok

how far it will be, she said not too far as long as you love me. It may be somewhat of a drive but it can't outweigh the

love that I thrive. The work on the move was hard in a way, but the love I felt made me feel ok through out the day. I

was nervous at first about meeting her father, her mother, and her very protective brother. Over time and talk I

listened and learned how to gain acceptance that I very much yearned. Then all of a sudden at the blink of an eye, I

got an idea and hope began to fly. This idea in my head was to help them move out of the house, with loving care like

a man to his spouse. It was a good choice beyond any doubt as the seed of acceptance began to sprout. Over time

the love grew strong like knowing the difference between right and wrong. It made me feel great knowing she was

always there, for when she was around me I never felt scared. A couple of months passed until a year went by, then I

realized she was the one for me and began to cry. There are fish in the sea and stars in the sky I've found the special

girl with that twinkle in her eye. After I told her I loved her one night, I went to bed and reality drifted out of sight. I

dreamt a dream of the future, seeing an angel and I knew that I knew her. It was Regina in a white robe as God

would prefer. The love filled my body and then the dream went to a blur. The girl is for me to hold when I'm lonely.

She was my one and only. We had good times and bad, times of sadness and glad, times of eternal love and

times that made us a little mad. Times I will remember and knew that I had. she was the type of person that anyone

could add. On December second two thousand and three, I felt an awkward feeling inside of me. This feeling has hit

me in the past while I was lying in bed, it seemed not to contrast. The feeling you get when your heart drops, the feeling you get when the world stops, the feeling you get when

you just want to cry, the feeling you get when you say

your last goodbye.  When I heard what had happened I asked God why. I fell to my knees and felt part of me die.

Soon I remembered that I had forgotten that I need a place, a spot for God. I've accepted him back in my life now

all I feel is I have lost 2 friends, one right now and one back then. I pray to God and ask Him how he could take a

person so great right now. She was so young so sweet all of my questions were set on repeat. I still don't know why

God did this, it hurts like a wound drenched in acid. I will miss her until I see her at heavens gates as an angel like

She once did demonstrate. she changed people's lives every day, never bad, but always in a good way. She is a

person that could change a sad face in an instant without disgrace. She is the most beautiful person inside and out.

She will be waiting for us at the crossroads with a smile on her face and the right route. Regina was a girl no one

can replace even if your looked on earth or in an eternity of space. We loved her with all our hearts, for a while is the

only time will be apart, for there is a special place in heaven for you. You are God's most beautiful work of art,

Time and death will set us apart but love in heaven will be our next start.

I will love you always

K. Thomas W.

Where are you, my friend?

By Kate Bland

 

Where are you, my friend?

The sun is shining

It is so warm

I ran to the docks and

call your name

But you do not answer

 

Where are you, my friend

The sun has gone behind the clouds

It is dark and cold

The sea is stormy

I call your name

But you do not answer

 

Where are you, my friend?

I can not fight the tears

I can not reconcile with the lies

I'm floating in the darkness

 

Where are you, my friend?

I feel your presence, I look to the sky

You are in His sunlight, warmth and glory

 

I know where you are, my friend

No pain, sadness or grief

But I am stuck

And there is no understanding

It Can't Be True!

By Stormie

 

It can't be true Regina you're too strong

I love you very much

This is so wrong

I want you to come back

I miss you so much, nothing will be the same

I'll never recover please come back

My heart is so empty

I can't feel a thing

Tears fill my eyes

I'm so mad

Why did you leave us?

You can't leave me, not now

We were suppose to go visit Erin and all your bama friends

The Christmas party is right around the corner

What about shopping?

What about our trucks?

Remember we planned so many things

And now what. they just won't happen?

I have to go on

Not without you

Impossible

You're my best friend

I love you

Miss you

Come back to me

 Never again will I find such a friend as patient as you

I could never put the saddle on right

But you never got mad

You looked at me with that lil grin you always got...

Spanish won't be the same

I'll never forget your wave with the lil back kick you did

Damn girl you meant so much to me

Why didn't I tell you that?

You knew though

You're still here, your so fresh in my mind

You can't be gone

I saw you, you were fine, strong healthy smiling of course

You're always so happy

Why you

It's a mistake

It has to be

I love you

Come back to me

Dear Regina

By Rebecca Lee Bland

 

On December 3^rd, my Mom and Daddy were home when we came home from school.  I knew something was very wrong, because they are never home that early. But never in my wildest nightmares did I think what I would hear was about you.  My Daddy called us to the table, he said something awful happened yesterday – something we had to know.  He told us that you lost your life in a very tragic car accident.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I didn’t want to believe.  I couldn’t sleep or eat for days.  I was depressed and cried so much.  I know everyone that knew you must have felt the same way.  I know you wouldn’t want this for any of us that loved you, but we are so sad. 

 

At your wake, your older brother hugged me and told me I had to be strong.  I tried and still try, I really do, but it is so hard.  I try to think of you where you are now, I know it is a place without sadness, without tears, without pain.  I know Jesus and the angels were with you that day, I know that God sent his angels and God took your pain, but I don’t want you there, I want you her with your family and friends.  I don’t understand why this happened.

 

But let's stop thinking about the sadness and think about the good times.  You were a GREAT GIRL!!!! , you were so much fun to be with.  You always laughed and smiled, even when someone was upset or sad you could make them laugh!  The Thanksgivings at the beach were the best!!!  I always felt like you were more than a friend, you were another sister to me.  All the games we played at the beach, we fished and collected hermit crabs, and big crabs too for hours!  We loved to jump over all the fences and playing on the docks.  When it was raining, we loved to play with each other’s hair!  In Birmingham, the walks with Biscuit were good, the time we “accidentlally”  lost him, and had to search for him – calling his name, with your Mom’s help we finally found him.  Night games were the best!  Whether it was kick the can, H-O-R-S-E or any other game we played with our own special twist.  Oh my gosh, that time it snowed – the only time I played in snow in Birmingham, we got garbage can lids and slid down the hills behind the tennis courts.  We had so much fun that day.

 

I thought you were beautiful, you had such faith in God, and how you loved your horses and dogs!  I wish I told you these things and wish I told you what an OUTSTANDING girl you were.  So Regina Rose Byrne, we will all miss you…forever.  I will always remember you and love you, and remember all the other crazy, zany adventures we all had! Forever.

 

I’ve made a scrap book with pictures of the four of us.  One time your little brother got my camera and wouldn’t give it back, I was upset with him. But, he took a picture of you.  I am glad he took my camera, because I wouldn’t have that picture of you.

 

I love you forever, and until we meet each other again

 

Love,

Rebecca Lee Bland

Regina's Memorial

By Joseph, Jeff, Mike, and Jen 

Given at Memorial Mass in New Jersey by her third cousins

 

Although it had been a few years since we were together, Nana Rose's party reintroduced us to our cousins  Regina, Sean and Cassie. The following summer we all became particularly close to Regina, spending every moment we could with her.

 

Everyday went the same. We would go to Aunt Jean's house and ask if it was ok if Regina came out. After fighting for the front seat in Jeff's car, we would spend our days laughing and joking with her down at the beach or at Cousin Karen's house. The nights would be the same, filled with laughter whether it be at Fantasy Island or in our beach house.

 

Regina's company and incessant happiness made everyone around her smile and enjoy the time they shared with her. I know this quality had an effect on us boys because Regina changed from a cousin to a sister figure in our eyes.

 

As always the summer ended and we returned back to our school lives but never without each other. We all kept in touch and made promises to visit Regina down in Florida as soon as we could. Our trip to Florida was not the trip we had planned. The puzzle was not complete without Regina there, smiling and laughing as she always had. She will always hold a special place in our hearts and will be strongly and deeply missed.

Our Little Bike Ride

By Ashley Goodhue

 

{Ashley wrote: Here is a story I typed up one day when thinking of Regina. I tend to write a lot about her now, it makes me smile remembering our memories instead of crying about them. It's one of my favorite memories with Regina and it brings the biggest smile to my face when I think of how much we laughed together this day... and how much we continued to laugh about it every time we told the story.)

 

At the shore our days were so often filled with a “whatever the day brings” type of relaxation. So more frequently than not, Regina and I always either wound up at my house, Karen and Paul’s house, or her Nana and Poppy’s house, at the beach, or somewhere in between. This story is the story of the in between…

Regina and I were on a bike ride to her Nana’s house. We were going there so Regina could pick up her bathing suit and then we were to be off to the beach. Now the ride from my house and Karen’s house, to her Nana’s house is an easy ride, and we had ridden it many times. This time was different though… We were coming around the bend in the road; this was really the only spot where the road actually took a big turn. As we were coming around we made sure to check that there were no cars and there weren’t, so we continued our little journey. Yet, all of a sudden this man on a bike is driving right for us, all wobbling in the weirdest way ever. Saying “whoa, whoa” every few feet. Regina and I were laughing hysterically at the sight of this man. He was still coming for us though! So we separated, I quickly went to the other side of the road as Regina moved all the way to the complete other side from me. We expected the man to go in between us, considering there was practically 20 feet between the two of us. Yet, he decides, of course, to head on in my direction. At this point, Regina finds it hilarious, because I had NO idea what was going on at all. As soon as we saw him coming at me, he and I had a head on collision with our bikes! I had fallen and then my bike on top of me, then his bike on top of that, with him on top of the bikes. Regina rushed quickly over to see if I was okay and all I remember is her looking so concerned, and then as soon as she realized I was okay, we both started hysterically laughing. It was the funniest sight we had ever seen. We were 16 and 15 years old and we had gotten into a biking accident…nearly unheard of! Yet, to top things off, Regina tried her absolute hardest to help the man up, but he wouldn’t budge. He didn’t want to move. We kept asking him if he was hurt, and he kept saying no, but he still wouldn’t budge in the slightest bit! Meanwhile, I’m underneath him and the two bikes and can not move anymore then to laugh. We can smell alcohol on him, so we later decided that this is why he couldn't move. We finally convinced the man to get up and then he moved his bike to the side of the road. We made sure he was okay and then reattempted our trip to her Nana’s. At this point I realized that I could barely move my wrist, so pushing my squeaking bike was beginning to get extremely difficult. But it didn’t matter, because the both of us were pretty much at a stand still laughing too much to even attempt to ride our bikes. A lot of our days together were filled with laughter like this… After about 15 minutes of laughing we finally got to her Nana’s house. We began to tell her the story and she decided we should call the cops because the man should not have been driving a bike if he had been drinking. An officer came to the house and questioned us, Regina and I found it so extremely hard to take this seriously, because if you had seen this man you would understand why. Our questioning stopped after about a half hour and the officer told us that he would have three squad cars looking for the man we described to him. We couldn’t believe this either; the entire day was simply hilarious to us. I have never laughed as hard as I did that day, and that memory of Regina and I will always bring a smile to my face. Needless to say, we never wound up at the beach that day…But it didn’t matter because we had such a good time on what we thought would be a quick and simple bike ride. We made an amazing memory together out of something that we did practically every day before that.

            That’s how every day was…always creating memories that I now will never forget. My summer wouldn’t have been the same without her then…and now my life will never be the same because of the impact she has had on it. I am forever grateful to have known Regina, even though it was for such a short time. We created many memories and she taught me so much about myself. She left this past summer and I was supposed to come down and see her over my spring break in April. My trip was already planned and we had talked about everything we would do when I was down there. How I would meet her friends she always talked about and how we could go riding together. I still went to Florida this April, but something so incredibly apparent was wrong. There is no other word to describe it but wrong. Yet, as I was in her family’s home, I knew she was watching over all of them and this brought a calming feeling to me unlike anything else. She will never be forgotten, by any one who has had the pleasure of knowing her, no matter how long or short they knew her.

            I will always miss you Regina…and I will remember our days forever…

Regina, Erin and I were swimming with the horses in Mr. Cletus’ lake and Regina fell off Molly in the water and Molly ran back to the barn and left Regina in the water.

 Poem for Gina

by Suzanne Bland

Rare and radiant beauty

 

 Eternal life belongs to you

 

 Gates of Heaven opened for you

 

 In our hearts you remain

 

 Now and forever

 

 Angel watch over us

 

Another time and another place we will meet again.