#ricmasten

[jax-bayne]

Went to @centralbookexchange for their mega cheap weekend sale recently & randomly stumbled upon a book by my maternal grandfather, Ric Masten. I was so shocked, especially to see a book I didn’t have by him with only 3ish poems in it that I actually recognized. Turns out it had been written 5 years before I was born & dedicated to my great grandmother, grandpa’s crazy mother who went by Hoodie & had a huge boa constrictor she let just live in the bathroom & a pet monkey my mom used to dress up like a doll when she was little. What bizarre families I come from on both sides haha. Still, jut randomly stumbling across a book written & published by grandpa in Salt Lake City, UT in a random used book sale? Safe to say it kinda made my week. So amazing. . Love & miss you, Grandpa Ric <3 I love learning more about you & getting the chance to connect more even posthumously. Means the world to me that I can keep close to him even after he’s gone. . #mastenclan #ricmasten #poet #writer #artist #painter #singer #songwriter #musician #bard #debard #wordsandoneliners #sunink #sunflowerink #poetlaureate #bigsur #uu #unitarianuniversalism #minister #troubadour #slc #centralexchange #booksale #family #pleasantsurprise (en Central Book Exchange) https://www.instagram.com/p/BmJikBsgXG9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=a2m9ppe9joj9

[jax-bayne]

Eulogy for Grandpa Ric, 10 years later.

Eulogy for Grandpa Ric, 10 years later.

My last memory of Grandpa Ric was when he was on his deathbed. He was fortunate to be in his own bed, in his own home that he himself had built, surrounded by his family as he began the process of shedding his mortal coil.

I remember the dim lighting, the quiet sobbing, the intimate embraces, and the hymns being sung, softly & gently at first, then growing louder & stronger as everyone…