A Candle Warms the Heart

When I was a cub reporter trainee for the Copley Los Angeles newspaper chain, my third posting was at the Burbank Daily Review.

My primary job was to write obituaries, of which there at least two a day. The work consisted of calling the local funeral parlors and gathering the information about the recently departed.

I took this responsibility seriously, and within a couple of days became a fairly good obit writer. So much so that the city editor sent me to cover the funeral of a noted courtroom lawyer. As I didn’t keep a copy of the story, I don’t remember his name.

But ... but, I do remember the words in his eulogy “He was a candle whose light punched holes in the dark.” I used the quote in my story, and it became part of the headline. To this day, I’ve never forgotten it.

When I began creating memes for my Facebook page, one of my first was based on that quotation. Recalling and retrieving that meme was a very emotional moment, as memories escaped and a renewed spirt overwhelmed me.

And I’ve come to love candles and what they represent — brightness when all seems dark and forlorn, guiding illumination that helps us find our way when we’re lost, a fragile treasure whose light must be protected from the elements.

Candles make occasional appearances in my life of memes, knocking on the doors of my mind and crowding into my thoughts.

I’ve added them to my album of inspiring and positive memes ...

To my album of song-lyric memes ...

And even my album of daily coffee memes (I should create more of these) ...

Now it’s YOUR turn. Light your own candle, venture into the dark, and start punching holes.