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.
