Hi all! I know it's a little early to post this, but I figured it's tomorrow already in some parts of the world. This weekend is a little busy and I was also afraid I'd forget to post this too, so here we go. In honor of the holiday weekend in the USA, the prompt for this week is : memorial

//Jason got out of the car and approached a thicket of coffee bushes, common in that part of Africa. He picked a couple of branches, added a few wild flowers and carried them back to his car. Then he drove to the lodge where all the drivers were staying. Ignoring their calls to join them, he went to the bar, downed a couple of whiskies, and headed out to the savannah. There, under an acacia tree, he built his own memorial to Lucy. To go with the one he would always have in his mind.//

[unrecoverable text]

Such a sweet piece Daniella, shows just how much Lucy meant to him.

DT: Aw ... KT: Go Joe.

Daniella, this is very appropriate and something i can really see Joe doing. KT, Julia must be dense. She doesn't have any idea why Joe might be angry?

KT -- let's see now what Joe finds inside...Maybe deep down, he would like a place like that instead of his trailer

Well, lets face it, DT, nothing could be much worse than that. You wouldn't blame him for wanting something better.

Seems like Joe is a popular guy this week! DT: I agree with everyone else. That is definitely something Joe would do. KT: Loved Joe's quip about the "tinny electronic voices". I can picture him chucking a GPS out the window while doing 100 MPH. LOL.

OK well, I didn't expect to write anything for this but something came to mind. I don't think it's exactly what I wanted, but these things have a habit of writing themselves. ********************* Prompt#178 --Memorial Title: "Memento Mori" ""Remember that you must die." There was no memorial. No stones, nor statues. Or even a bronze plaque. No speeches or press conferences. Nothing. Hakase didn't want the world's masses to know that the Condor--G2 of the Science Ninja Team- had perished at the hands of their enemy. It didn't matter that he had died saving the world. It was something they would never know of. And as they went about their ordinary lives, going to work and coming home to loved ones, none of them would ever realize just how close the Earth came to total destruction that day. That the sacrifice of one man, would remain secret to all, aside from a select few. A memorial. He didn't think Joe would have wanted one anyhow. At the word, in his minds 'eye, he could see those pale grey-blue eyes scoffing at him for even thinking of such a thing. I don't need tears Ken. And I don't need a brass statue, just more bullets to take down Berg Katse. So save the goddamned brass for those.... So....there was no memorial. Their grief was private, hidden away from prying eyes. And it cut them deeply. The broken shards of their shattered lives glued back together haphazardly. But if you looked too closely, the cracks showed, like a jigsaw puzzle that didn't quite fit together. And he knew it more than anyone. His mind drifted back to a meeting he had with Hakase not long after the incident at Cross Karakoram. The incident. That's what the big-wigs called it. Ken wanted to scream at them. It wasn't an incident. It was a tragedy . Even though it was a day of triumph over Galactor, it was also the day he lost the person he had been closest to for most of his life. His teammate, his friend. His brother. After everyone had been debriefed multiple times, he found himself once again sitting in front of the man that raised him since he was eight years old. The doctor's face was calm as he gathered his papers, then placed them aside. They spoke briefly about Joe and how the ISO was currently searching for his replacement. "Joe's replacement?" he had stammered, voice almost catching. "But Joe....was...." "Joe was....," the doctor paused and cleared his throat. "A life unfulfilled, unrealized--is the worst kind of life". Nambu Hakase had said quietly, folding his hands across the top of his desk. Ken was torn between wanting to cry and wanting to strangle the man he considered a second father. Instead he laughed. He stood and with the doctors voice rising in anger, filling his ears, he turned and left. Joe, unfulfilled? He lived more in his the years than most people did in their lifetime. Yeah, he was moody. Yes, he had a penchant for blowing things up. Not to mention he could be a total bastard at times. But Joe knew how to bring it. On the job and off it. How many times had they argued over the Bird Missiles? Over some strategic maneuver? How often had they gone out drinking together? He lost count of the times everyone went to the track to cheer Joe on during a race. Or hung out at the Snack, all five of them. As friends.... no...as family. He knew Joe accepted his part in the grand scheme of things. That there would be no going back from the long road he had set out upon. One that he decided to travel alone. Even though he would have tried to stop him, that he wanted to murder him himself for not telling him how sick he was, he knew the outcome would have been the same. We're all gonna die someday Ken. Might as well make the most of the time we've got. Last one out, turn the lights off and all that.... And Ken knew, eventually, they would all meet the same fate. Some of them sooner than later. He shifted his weight on the balls of his feet, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. He gazed up at the starry sky. It was so clear he could see the Milky Way. A trail of bright sparkling lights against the darkness. He knew Joe came up here often, that he liked the view out over the water. A small smile curled his lips. For a guy so hard bitten, he had some surprisingly soft spots. He always thought the ocean reminded him of being home, back on BC Island. But when he asked him about it , to his surprise Joe had said he liked it because it was quiet and out of the way. The wind ruffled his hair and Hakase's words about a replacement Condor echoed through his mind. He didn't want to remember that Joe died. No, he would remember that he lived.

Redbird, that's very powerful! I can feel Ken's pain and I like his determination to feel that Joe truly lived and that's how he should be remembered.

{Grabs a couple of tissues} *Sniffle*

Redbird, brilliant!

Thanks for the comments guys. Glad you all enjoyed it!

That's a very emotional piece, Redbird. I really feel like I'm at the heart of Ken's grief, as he comes to grips with losing his best friend.