People often try to emulate
the appearance, the mannerisms,
and the actions of others...
people often try to step
into the shoes and take on
the responsibilities of someone else...
people often try to recapture times,
memories, and experiences -
because people do not want to lose
anything that matters...
people often try to forget about
the times when people fell -
because falling in any way
is a tale telling sign of our humanity,
and though we may not want to admit it
no one is invulnerable.

People often try to echo the ideas of others,
people often try to speak for others,
people often try to imitate the voice of others -
but there are some voices
that can never be reproduced,
because the voices of some people are unique:
take my Dad, for example,
whose spirit and whose voice I can still hear,
and I will always hear every day,
within my mind, in undeleted answer phone messages,
in the memories of him and me
that I will never forget, that I will always recall,
that will always make me cry
as well as always make me smile -
because there will never be anyone like my Dad,
nor could there ever be anyone
with the same caring, compassionate,
and calming cadence that was ever-present
every time anyone heard the unmistakable
and the unforgettable sound of his voice.