Hello Everybody!

I sincerely hope that you are having a great weekend! It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I am writing this blog entry. This Tuesday (11/15/11) marks the one year anniversary of Nick Muccia’s passing. He was not only a drum major, or an eagle scout, or a leader; he was a friend and someone that I looked up to. I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing during the entire day leading up to his passing. I wasnt feeling well on Monday and decided to stay home from school. I was really congested and felt just miserable. Around 7:30pm, I was doing my homework for the next day when I saw on my computer screen that Nick Muccia had passed away. At first, I thought it was a sick joke/rumor that someone started. In the end, it turned out to be true.

The next day, many of the Juniors and Seniors (at that time) who knew him through music, church or boy scouts were a mess (emotionally). The band community was just in complete and utter shock. No one really talked about his passing, it was just understood that people were upset. On Thursday evening, I went to stop and pay my respects at the funeral parlor and then head over to my boy scout meeting. The line was in the parlor and all the way around the building. I never made it in there and just knew Nick would want me at boy scouts.

Friday, 11am at Resurrection Parish, the funeral for Nick was held. I completely lost it. Nick being off this world forever finally hit me at that moment. I cried and cried and cried some more. It was good to see many of my friends who were sophomores in college (at that point) and reconnect with them. It made the entire situation bittersweet for me. I still have the ribbon I wore on my jacket during the service. Now, it is one of my most treasured keepsakes. Friday evening was the football game. Knowing that the Marching Rams had lost one of our own early that week was hard to not think about. I found solace though in Mr. and Mrs. Muccia, Mr. and Mrs. Faul, Nick’s brother and sister (Tom and Lynne) and many of his close friends, who I knew and loved, being there. I hadn’t seen some of his friends/my friends in at least year since that day. All of the Marching Rams (Almost 200 of us) wore orange ribbons on our uniform to dedicate our show that night to him. Before we started, Mrs. Russo read a passage she had come up with the commemorate Nick and the values he stood for. She didn’t cry! 🙂 On the field, there were people who were crying while they were marching. That made me emotional and dig deep for him after a long week fraught with emotions. Also, seeing a sea of orange in the band section pushed me even more. It was an emotionally charged night but, one that I will never forget.Later in the week, I shaved a mohawk in memory of Nick and kept it for a few weeks. Yes, he did have a mohawk at one point.

While it will be good to see everybody who can come on Tuesday, I am not looking forward to the emotions surrounding the service. Tuesday is also the first day of swim team. Swimming was something Nick was very passionate about and loved to do in his free time. The numerous events, awards, and scholarships dedicated in Nick’s honor just show how many areas he impacted with his short time on Earth. It’s comforting knowing that he is looking down on me and keeping me safe/secure. Thank you everybody! God Bless!

Jordan

P.S- I love you Nick! I hope you are playing the trombone and chillin’ with your fellow eagle scouts in heaven.