In the memory of Matthew(English)- From Dale

( Original Message in English 3 of 3)


A NOTE FROM DALE:

It is with the greatest sadness of my life that I join both Matthew’s family and Kevin in mourning his passing.

I don’t know what to say. If I sat down and thought about it, I could write volume after volume, recording Matthew’s life, telling you how I came to know him, what our life together was like, what joy and beauty he brought to me and to others, what unconditional support and love he gave me.

I can remember when he and I met. I can recall with clarity where we were, what the room was like, where I sat, the direction he approached me from. Neither one of us had intended to go to the place we met. I had just gotten out of the hospital. He had told his friends he could not go. But he went and I went and at that moment, in that one wrinkle in the fabric of this space and time, our paths crossed and his fate and my fate were intertwined.

Matthew was my first love. We were young and innocent. A whole world awaited us and we explored it together. As the universe unfolded for us, he saw what I saw, experienced what I experienced. Likewise, I saw what he saw, experienced what he experienced. In the truest sense, we shared our lives with each other.

We traveled together to Guam, to Korea, to Thailand. To Mauritius, Kenya and Tanzania. Under the dark African night sky, he and I saw the Milky Way stretching from one horizon to the other, a literal river of light across the dark night sky, while the night sounds of the African wildlife squawked and chattered around us. This moment remains for me, perhaps, the most awe-inspiring of my life. I am grateful he was with me to share that moment.

When we moved to America, we settled in San Francisco as a compromise. I wanted to return to America. He agreed so long as we lived in San Francisco. When we moved here, the City was absolutely magical for us. There is something, maybe, about San Francisco that encourages YOU to be YOU, to be who you truly are, to break free of constraints felt in other places. We both felt that magic. I thank him for showing me someplace so magical. Without him, I would never have imagined that such a place could be.

Matthew was the one person in this world I trusted more than anyone. I understood that he was so full of unconditional love and support that he would love me no matter what. That was the kind of beautiful person he was.

I hope that through Life in San Francisco you too have come to understand the beauty and love that Matthew was, that you will continue to carry his spirit in your hearts. I know he has visited me. I can feel him, his beauty and love. If you open your heart, I know that you can too.


- Dale Burns