Dear Rea,
I think you would have loved to have known that the Academy's, or at the very least the A-3s' motto all summer long has been "Today will be a wonderful day!" It seemed every where I turned I heard some one singing, or saying "Today will be a wonderful day!"
We sang it on the forth of July as we paraded down the streets yelling, and generally making joyful noises. We carried our tapestry of memories of you as we walked down those streets. We knew that if you had been there you would have been as loud and joyful as the rest if not louder and more joyful than all of us put together.
Later we put those memories up high where all could see, and sang Happy birthday to our country. I wished I could have heard your voice mix with ours'.
All of summer was joyous, light, and colorful. Just the way you would have wanted it. We did a beautiful show, you would have cried. (I did when I read it through for the first time.) You would have been proud of my fellow cast members, they were incredible.
Thank you Rearcous. Thank you for your joy, your love of life, your enthusiasm for life, and your giving nature. You gave so many people a motto, a drumbeat, a joy for every day. It was a very encouraging thing to walk down the hallway exhausted beyond belief, and hear someone behind you humming "Today will be a wonderful day!" Than you start singing what they began, and they join in, and perhaps someone else joins in; suddenly you've got enough energy not only for you, but for everyone around you, and the rest of the day becomes a truly a beautiful thing. I will keep this song, and your bright smile with me wherever I go to remind me what living for Christ looks like, and to spread the Joy of life to others. I love you Rea! I miss you.~Mary Lou