Saturday, December 13, 2008

2nd annual Drew Goren Memorial BBQ



2nd annual Drew Goren Memorial BBQ
Date/ time: Dec. 27th, 2009 at 6pm
Location: The Topanga Roadhouse (Eric's place)
1704 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Topanga, CA 90290

For more information, to RSVP or for directions, contact Eric:
Ph: 310-455-2949
email: eras_490@yahoo.com

Dear friends and loved ones,
It's hard to believe that 2 years have gone by since the passing of our dear friend Drew Goren. In some ways it seems like he was only with us yesterday, in others, it is like a lifetime has passed. One thing is sure, Drew's memory has not dimmed from our minds nor our hearts. I plan to keep doing these annual gatherings as long as I am able and I hope it will provide all of us with an opportunity to remember Drew as well as to stay connected and to reconnect with each other.
Although Drew was a vegetarian for a while toward the end of his life, somehow I can think of no better way to celebrate his memory than charring beast-flesh and imbibing liquid spirits, in the spirit to which he was accustomed for most of his life.
Another long lost tradition of our merry band of friends is the annual Holiday Gift Exchange, which has fallen by the wayside in recent years, but I would like to try to reinvigorate that tradition in this context. I invite anyone who would like to participate to bring a wrapped gift so that we can revive this tradition.

For those of you who were not part of the original gift exchanges, we would all bring a gift of similar value ($20-$40.) We would be secretly assigned someone to purchase for by a neutral 3rd party (my mom) and then at the exchange ceremony, we would pass around a candle and each person would take their turn to speak about the person they had bought the gift for, and what that person means to them, at the end of which they would announce the name of the gift recipient and present the gift.
In this way we managed to have a deeper experience than simply trading gifts, but also we would each express our appreciation for one another and also hear appreciation expressed for us.
I suggest we take this model but have Drew as an underlying theme throughout, giving each other gifts which have something to do with Drew, whether they might be actual possessions of his or simply things which he loved or would have loved, or just something that reminds you of Drew.
If you are reading this, even if we have never met, I want you to know that I love you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to remember Drew and for being his friend, as I was, while he lived.

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