Memories of a Friend Taken Too Soon!

A very dear and close friend of mine was killed 7 years ago (on May 31st, 2004). His name was Dakota, and he was killed at the age of 13. Being the crazy kid that he was, he snuck into his cousins house along with his sister and friend to do some drinking. His cousin, who was about 3 yrs older than him, was messing around with a 20 gauge shotgun. Unfortunately, the gun went off and was pointed right at Dakotas stomach only a few inches away, killing him instantly. I took his death hard, as did everyone in our small town, and we all wondered what possessed his cousin to pick up that gun. 6 years have now passed and its hard to believe. All the things he missed out on, all that he never got experience because of some juvenile decisions. I miss him alot and will never forget my very close friend and how he was ripped from us far too soon!

*A newspaper clipping reports (indystar.org)*

 "SHELBURN, Ind. -- A 16-year-old boy fatally shot a younger boy with a shotgun, but investigators said they were hearing different accounts of what happened.
Dakota Moore, 13, of Sullivan was pronounced dead Monday in Sullivan County Community Hospital after he was shot once in the abdomen with a 20-gauge shotgun, county Coroner Danny Holmes said.
Moore was shot about 1:40 a.m. in the home of the 16-year-old about 20 miles south of Terre Haute. Witnesses -- all juveniles -- told sheriff's deputies that the parents of the 16-year-old had asked them to leave the home.
However, the teen let them back in through a window before the shooting occurred, Jerry Mize, chief deputy of the Sullivan County Sheriff's Department."

If Tears Could Build A Stairway

If tears could build a stairway
and thoughts a memory lane
I'd walk right up to heaven
and bring you home again

No Farewell words were spoken
No time to say good-bye
You were gone before I knew it
And only God knows why.

My heart's still active in sadness
And secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one can ever know.

But now I know you want us
To mourn for you no more
To remember all the happy times
Life still has much in store.

Since you'll never be forgotten
I pledge to you today
A hallowed place within my heart
Is where you'll always stay.

God knows why, with chilling touch,
Death gathers those we love so much,
And what now seems so strange and dim,
Will all be clear, when we meet Him.
I Knew you for a Moment.