Farewell Ceremony

BY JOHN TLUMACKI | TAUNTON | OCTOBER 29, 2008

Morgan Riddick, 3, was me during that farewell ceremony. I would have done the same thing if that was my dad. I got closer to Morgan and his father after I took this photo and remember seeing his dad, Thomas, with a tear that rolled down from his eye to the tip of his nose, where it seemed to stay forever. And I remember thinking that he couldn't wipe that tear, never mind look down at or hug his son, until the ceremony was over. Morgan cried for most of the ceremony, but he was not alone. I had a tear that was hidden behind my camera. It was after I saw a teenage girl who was crying. Her father was much older than Thomas Riddick. She stood back in the crowd of family members and held her hand over her heart during the national anthem. I wondered when I would not have to cover these events anymore.