What Marty Said at Farewell

Mom asked me to MC the Celebration of Life, which meant I would organize and introduce the speakers and to help move the event along. I also collected as many comments as I could from Facebook and via email that were most especially relevant and moving. I also actively listened to people and took notes that I might weave them in here and there. Here is the actual text I had at the podium and I felt free to ad lib here and there.

Welcome

Thank you for joining us to remember and celebrate the life of my dad, Mike Bird. My dad was born on June 6, 1940 and died on July 18, 2012 at a spry young age of 72. He was one of eight children born to Otto and Eve Bird. He married Diane Dickerson on August 18, 1962 and had 4 children, Miki, Marty (that’s me!), Eric and Danielle.

My dad had a special effect on everyone he met, thus each one of us remembers dad in our own way. We’d like to know a little more about how my dad affected you and we think the best format for today is to enable you to express your thoughts in this setting. We want you to be comfortable, so if you’d like to use the podium and microphone, please do. Or if you’d like to simply stand and tell your story, that works fine as well.

I’d first like to acknowledge the great support my mom and our family has received from the local community. Neighbors and friends have stopped by with food and supplies and offers to do anything, including picking up our mail and mowing our lawn. Thank you.

We have also received several donations:

• Tara Fries donated to Kiva.org in memory of my dad
• Janet Rigaux donated to Doctors Without Borders, and
• Jackie Sampson send us a cash donation to be applied to the charity of our choice

Thank you.

The Name Michael

I looked up the how the name Michael is literally defined and found three sources:

• First, from the Hebrew name meaning “who is like God?”. This is a rhetorical question, implying no person is like God.
• Second, from the bible, the Archangel, meaning "He who is closest to God"
• And third, from the Urban Dictionary: “A very cool guy who makes everyone laugh. Once you meet him, you will want to be his friend right away.”

One person he made laugh was my mom Diane who will get us started with her memories.

Dad as a Father

There was a time that I considered dad to be selfish for moving us away from sunny southern California to live his dreams on a 70 acre piece of land in southern Indiana. I mean, who does this? As a twelve year old it was hard. I was at the age where I just couldn’t, and wouldn’t understand. And selfish? No. He cleared the land, felled trees and chopped wood to heat the house; grew a huge garden, raised goats and chickens and pigs to feed us; and did countless other things not for himself, but for his family.

Sometimes it takes a major event to motivate one to make a change in your life. Let’s celebrate dad’s life by remembering some of the things he did that made him happy. Maybe you’ll try some of these: How about skinny dipping? Or writing in a journal? Take up photography. Take the time to listen to more music; Take an afternoon nap; Learn to bake bread; Take a long walk in the woods; and most certainly - do your best to live your dreams with no apologies.

Dad as a Golfer

Mom tells me that some may relate to this: When dad and I and his brother Tony and my cousin Alan would go golfing (this had to be back in the early 80s I’d say), way before he dreamed he’d be managing a golf course of his own, he would get this grin on his face and tell Tony, “A nickel a hole right?” Tony would laugh. Then dad: “Or how about 25 cents a hole?” Yes, dad was confident and competitive and would like to place a wager on his performance. We all know that never changed.

Dad as a Sports Nut

Dad grew up around Notre Dame football. Since he lived in the Angela house which is within walking distance of campus, dad would hang around the stadium on game day and often got in for free when someone would give him an extra ticket. Dad continued to be passionate about it throughout his life. Well, maybe passionate is not the right word - how about “extra-passionate.” I recall (now remember this was the 70’s when Notre Dame was dominant) listening to Notre Dame football games on the radio with dad. If they won, dad was on a high the rest of the day. Now, if they lost (which was rare thankfully) watch out! Dad was not somebody you wanted to be around.

The most thrilling game we watched was at Uncle Bill’s house, the 1979 Cotton Bowl. Notre Dame was losing to Houston 34-12 with 4:40 left in the third quarter. The game was played in Dallas during an ice storm. Dad didn’t lose confidence, though and neither did their quarterback Joe Montana. Many of the 70,000 fans had left the stadium because of the lopsided score and the bad weather. You might remember the game went down to the final seconds when Montana completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to the diving wide receiver Kris Haines. Final score: Notre Dame 35, Houston 34. Dad was thrilled.