On the morning of February 10th 2008 my family and I got shocking news the jus might change our lives for good.


My mom left for work. My dad and little sister, Taylor, were awake and watching television when the phone rang. It was my grandma, she calls every morning but today she called with bad news.


Later that day the while family was awake, my dad, older sister, Brooke, Taylor, and myself.


When my mom walked through the door my dad called her into the living room to join us because we had some news to tell her. Before anyone said anything she looked at my sisters and I in fear as if we had robbed a bank and said “Girls what did yins do?” My dad responded and said, “No, not them it’s about Chaz.” “Chaz?” she asked. He said “Yes, he passes away this morning around 4:00 a.m. Josh’s parents found him lying on the their couch I in the basement with his head in the garbage can.”


She was shocked as well as all of us were. My whole family was close to Chaz, he was the best kid any parent could ask for, but now it was all taken away by a stupid mistake.


Then my mom decided to call my grandma to get the full story on what had happened. Both of them crying as if they were little kids whose puppy jus got ran over. My grandma began to explain what happened. “Well it all began Friday whenever Chaz arrived home from Tennessee. He had been down there living with him mom, but he got homesick so he came back home. Friday he spent the whole day with Camo, his little brother. The Saturday hung out with his friends. Now from what Shawna, my aunt, said one of Chaz’s friends showed up and had brought alcohol and dared Chaz to drink a whole pint of Jim Beem. Chaz would never turn down a dare so he ended up doing it like a dumb teenager would do. Then he was puking and the friend gave him a garbage can and told him to lie down and he would be fine in the morning. Well he wasn’t. Josh’s parents got up because his dad had to go to work and they were going to check on the boys. Everyone got up but Chaz. When josh’s mom noticed that he wasn’t moving she decided to grab his hair and pull his head out of the trashcan and his face was black. She screamed so loud the windows in the house a mile away could have broke. They called Chaz’s dad, rusty, and told him to hurry over there. Once he arrived there he saw Chaz and all he could say was, “No, oh my God Chaz.”


Then later that night we decided as a family that it was best to go to my aunt’s house. When we got there everyone was standing outside talking and I had to use the bathroom so I walked in the house and noticed my uncle sitting at the table so I asked him why he wasn’t outside and he said, “ Because I am writing my speech for Chaz’s funeral.” “Well you have a couple of days just come outside with all of us,” I said. He seemed very upset but yet all the same time okay, and he responded by saying “No, that’s okay I want to write this now while I am still thinking about everything.” So I asked him that if he didn’t mind I could read it and he told me he didn’t care. As I scrolled down reading it I noticed how he was talking about when Chaz scored a touch down at the last John Marshall game and it caused then to win. He was so happy about it that he wouldn’t wash his uniform so he hid it in his room underneath his bed and my uncle would always complain about how bad it smelled. So one day when Chaz was at school he washed it and put it all back in the same spot and thought Chaz would never noticed well when he got home he did and he was so mad and all my uncle could say was, “Well bud you’ll get over it.” Chaz would always talk about talk about his sexy side burns he could grow and he would always beg my uncle to buy him his special cologne that he would call his special women getting cologne. The part that got me the most was at the end, he wrote bud I wore my jeans and boots today because I knew you wouldn’t recognize me any other way.


Lying in my bed that night once we got home I began to think about all the memories Chaz and I shared together and how much fun we would always have and that just being with him would make me smile. It all changed way to soon we haven’t seen on another and about three months and now knowing that the last time I will ever see him, he will be lying in a coffin not smiling, not laughing, not answering my questions it was killing me inside to continue to think about how he won’t get to watch me grow up, get married, have kids. All I can really say would be that god wanted him now he set him free Chaz took his hand when he heard him call.


Chaz, you will always be my cousin, best friend, and my hero. I know in my heart you are still beside me even though I may not be able to talk to you about boys and their drama I know you will listen and laugh like always, but if tears could build a stairway and memories a lane I would walk right up to heaven and bring you home again. Don’t worry we will be together sooner than we both think.