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last saturday our best friend’s brother, who was visiting from the states with his wife, died in a road accident in queen elizabeth national park. his wife was seriously injured and was flown to amsterdam for surgery. what followed was a very intense week of ups and downs and lots of reminders of what’s important in life.

we only spent a short time with luke just after his arrival here in uganda, but we were to leave for a week-long trip to northeastern uganda together with his family and another family just two days after his death. we’re very sad to have missed the opportunity to spend more time with him…he was a giant of a man. a pioneer in environmental justice and a champion for minorities. his obituary is worth a read - new york times, boston globe, san francisco chronicle. a nice write up on daily kos. he was big time.

the details are many, with the logistics of dealing with something of this magnitude in the middle of africa. but i think the important points deal mainly with the close community of friends that came to help the family. one friend was involved in all aspects of the medivac plane and related hospital stuff, one belgian friend flew with the wife to the hospital in amsterdam, staying for surgery and arranging for the son who arrived from the states. we cooked some meals. paige and odin spent a couple days with the kids, going to the pool and playing games. tom and i drove to QE for two days to view his brother’s crash site, the vehicles involved, and to navigate the ugandan bureaucracy of obtaining a police report.

obviously it was a lot of heavy stuff. not the kind of things you can prepare for.

i guess i’m relating the previous events and sharing some of the details of luke as a roundabout way of leading up to his cremation - probably the most intense and profound event i’ve ever been a part of. he was cremated at a buddhist crematorium here in kampala. an outdoor pavillion here in the city. i was asked to document the event so the many family members who weren’t there could share it. luke was there on a stretcher. tom and his wife read poems, were lead by an orange-robed priest to recite hindi prayers, sprinkle flower petals and bathe luke’s face and feet. luke was carried four times around the pyre and placed on top of the pile of logs. his face and feet were bathed in ghee, more logs were added and tom lit the fire.

i don’t know if i would remember any of it if it weren’t for the photos. the whole time i was shaking and tears. but always everything seemed exactly right and i remember there was a moment where it felt like there was this release and not only was everything ok, everything was really, really good. it was incredibly moving.

obviously these are events i will never forget. and maybe the singular moment of our time here in uganda. at once are reminders of the dangers of being here but the value of a life well-lived. the tragedy and sadness of losing a loved one but the celebration of the quality of his life. he was Living. for real.