I think it was in 1995 that Peter W. and I took a Greek Isles cruise. It was fascinating to visit the places we had read about in history books and seen in art history classes. Leif would have enjoyed it, as he was interested in history and the Ancient Greeks, but he had already left home and was engaged to and living with Nikko, so we didn't take him along.
We bought hardly any souvenirs, but I brought him this silver necklace. When I saw it, I just knew I had to get it for him. By this time, he had been participating in the Society for Creative Anachronism for several years and fought with battle axes.
It was a small thing, not a grand gift, but Leif really liked it. It seemed just the right symbol for him. He wore it often, and among his jumbled belongings, it was one thing, along with his class and wedding rings, I could always find. I've already posted photos of him wearing it. I only found two necklaces in his things. The other was a black leather circlet with a hematite "fang" on it. I gave that one to his nephew, Marcus, but I still have the battle axe. Since I gave it to him, I will keep it and wear it in his memory, remembering him as the warrior with the gentle heart.
He was 20 years old in 1995 when I gave it to him, and 33 when he died. His birthday is coming. That will be a hard day for me. On his Facebook and MySpace pages, he will have a birthday and be one year older, unless I remove the birth year from his profiles, but we will not have that celebration with him. It will be a sad day, and yet there will be happy memories among that sadness, because of the happiness we felt at his birth.
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