Earlier this evening I was going to post this picture and was wondering what to title the post. At suppertime, my brother called to tell me that a cousin of mine in Pakistan had died. If you are a reader of this blog or its Facebook mirror, you may have come across the occasional comment from Ivor. Well, Ivor was a cousin of mine from Pakistan. He was better known to our family as “Munna Bhai” or simply “Munna.” In Pakistan, almost everyone has a pet name that family and friends use instead of your real name, and I believe that “Munna” means something like “dear one” or “sweet one” or “cute one.”

Munna had never married, which is difficult in any culture, but perhaps especially so in a more traditional culture like Pakistan. However, he was well cared for by my aunt until she passed and by his siblings afterward. I had a special place for him in my heart, not just because he was my cousin, but because, well, I think we should have special places in our hearts and thoughts in our heads and words in our mouths and deeds in our bodies for those who are alone in some way.

At any rate, this fragile, beautiful flower is now for Ivor, for Munna.

If you pray, please pray for my cousin Anita, who is grieving and sad in Philadelphia and needs her university to allow her to withdraw from classes without penalty to go to Pakistan. Pray for her family when she is away. Please pray for Almer, who is in theological college in London and cannot go home because of his visa status. Please pray for Arshal and Sheena in Pakistan as they receive mourners and mourn themselves.

Now, we may often take our ephemeral electronic communications for granted. Sometimes I am even tardy or utterly neglectful in responding to them. And, yet, every word I receive through email or Facebook, even the silly ones, has a dear soul behind it uttering it. It is helpful to remember that. I am sad and happy that I had incidental contact on Facebook with my cousin, brief notes that I will cherish even more now. Four short days ago on Facebook, Ivor encouragingly wrote to me regarding his eagerness that I take the next step with my photography:

“Oh yes Neil dear, I am sincere in my comments! Your photos do have a unique signature, and an artistic touch. So please do stick to your plan and market them! Make a portfolio in hard-copy first, including your best photos. Then show it to ad agencies without stopping, until you get a contract! You have a good hand with a camera. I wish you all the very best! Keep it up!!!”

May God bless you and keep your soul, my sweet Munna bhai.