TODAY MARKS A MILESTONE

 August 31, 2021

One year ago today, my life changed irreparably. I was scrolling through Facebook when a private message popped up: Call Officer R____ at the Covina Police Department ASAP. A phone number followed.

My first reaction was: This must be a joke or a prank. But even as I replied, “Why?” I realized it wasn’t.

I made the call, and the officer confirmed my brother, Ron Lund (known as Rockin’ Ron to his friends), had passed away.

Since our father had died in 1954 and our mother in 2011, we were the only ones left in the family. Now, he was gone, too.

Larry and I immediately set out for Covina—over an hour’s drive from our home in Dana Point. This was in the middle of a heatwave with temperatures in Covina between 110 and 120 degrees. Wildfires raged nearby, so the acrid smell of smoke permeated the air. And it was also during the first COVID peak…

Once we arrived, we were met by Ron’s best friend, Bud, and another friend, Joe. Before too long, two of his other friends arrived. Several of his neighbors also came out—in the heat and smoky air—to tell me how much they had appreciated him.

Their stories of his kindness helped me deal with the initial shock.

We spent the next month cleaning out his mobile home and taking care of the matters of his estate. The busyness helped, but it also allowed me somewhat to avoid dealing with my feelings about losing my brother.

Among his possessions, we discovered a slim, spiral-bound notebook filled with his handwriting. I knew what it was immediately because about ten years earlier he had told me he was writing a book. I promised him I would edit and publish it when he finished it, and he even sent me a chapter so I could show him what it would look like edited. We discussed the title and some of his ideas.

Following his death, several of his friends asked me about “Ron’s book.” Since I hadn’t heard anything more from him, I figured he had given up the idea.

Now, here it was. Not a book, really, more of an outline, and only a few chapters. However, I had made him a promise…

I transcribed it and showed it to Larry. I felt I had to finish it, and he agreed to write the rest with me. (Once I had transcribed it, I gave the original to his best friend since he was the first to ask me about it. After all, I still had the words.)

We began with Ron’s original story, but added a great deal of detail: dialogue, descriptions, feelings, etc. (His words ended at the beginning of Chapter 11, and much of the previous chapters contained our original writing.)

After about four months, we finished the manuscript. He hadn’t told us his intended ending, and I’m glad. As we worked on it, we agreed it could only have one ending.

Dominic Drive was published in January of this year.

The cover image is a photo of an actual sign from the street where we grew up. Ron had retrieved it when they changed the signs from white with black letters to green with white lettering, and he had kept it all these years. Larry changed the name to the name of the book.

It has received wonderful reviews, and many friends have sent me private notes about how much they liked it.

On his birthday, May 31, we had a nice luncheon here at our house where his friends shared more of their memories of him.

Between the book and the stories, I have been able to piece together a more complete picture of my little brother. I am grateful he touched so many lives. And I feel as though I have done everything I could to honor his memory. Not everyone is so fortunate.