An Unexpected Archie Adventure

Featured Singers: Kyle Olsen, Joey DeBenedetto, Cordell Cole, Malia Morris, Katie Kern, Melinda Pfundstein & Brandon Albright
At The Smith Center, Las Vegas

The day was overcast when Heidi and I drove away from Palo Alto for the last time, leaving Archer behind. We made our way to San Jose to coordinate his body transfer to Utah. On the way we saw a late-night party goer getting arrested on University Avenue; then in San Jose, the street we needed to turn on was blocked by police, we saw a car that was inside a store. There was a little humor in the omens we were witnessing. The rain was getting increasingly stronger as we got closer to the funeral home. We were trying to pretend we were upbeat, that is the best way to describe it, pretending. We needed to get back home. It was not the time to crack.

The funeral home was uneventful, we picked out a coffin and a crate. The funeral home director was very kind to us, but it was a Saturday, and not all of his staff were there to assist. Before we knew it, we were back on the road heading east.

As the day wore on with periodic moments of tears and then trying to find positive moments that we had gone through, we were exhausted and didn’t want to drive all the way home, even though a snowstorm was following us, we eventually stopped and stayed in Las Vegas, Nevada.

My brother and his family live there, but we were still processing our grief and needed time together, just the two of us. We decided to have dinner with him instead of staying at his home. He was gracious and offered for us to stay, but we appreciatively declined. After the dinner, we were talking about what everyone was up to, and we were told that my nephew was part of the Zion’s Youth Symphony and Choir, and they were having a concert in February. He asked if we wanted to go, and Heidi said, “we are going to be the best Aunt and Uncle” where we will go to everything of our nephews and nieces. What I heard was that we were coming back in February to watch my nephew sing in some church choir; Sure, why not.

At first, after we had arrived home, time seemed to be going in slow motion, getting everything ready for the funeral. We dressed Archer in a Harry Potter Quidditch Uniform that we had purchased when were at Universal Studios. We would give it to our first child to wear for Halloween. We put on a pair of socks that were like little Snitches that Harry Potter was so adept at catching. He had his favorite pillow and his friends that he loved. It was a very long lead up to his funeral, but after it was over, time began to speed up again and before we knew it, we were heading back to Las Vegas.

This time we did stay with my brother and his family. It was nice being with family even though part of ours was missing. We played games until late in the night, it was enjoyable. It wasn’t something we had really experienced in a very long time. The next day was Sunday, and we went to church, and waited until we would go to the concert. While we were waiting, my brother and his wife agreed to watch a little girl for their neighbor so they could go to the earlier concert. It was hard watching this little girl be cute and be innocent, something that we would never get to experience with Archer in this lifetime. It is at those times that his not being here anymore is even more noticeable. We were glad when it was time for us all to leave for the concert.

When we arrived at The Smith Center, I was amazed that a small choir would be singing at such a prestigious place. I figured they would have been in a church, but instead got a sweet deal to sing in a place on Superbowl Sunday, where no one would come and see it. However, I was very wrong, very wrong indeed. While we were waiting to get to our seats, I looked over the program and was amazed to see that there were so many people involved in the production, and they had guest singers. Maybe this was a bigger deal than I had originally thought. I probably heard of the Zion’s Youth Choir and Symphony but if I had, I know for certain that I never really paid attention to what it was.

The time had come and the get to your seat bell rang. My brother and sister in-law had gotten us two tickets to sit up in the box section of the concert hall. We arrived at what we thought was our box. We didn’t pay too close of attention to the ticket, but we were corrected soon enough when the actual people came and hinted that we were not in our right seats. We looked closer at the tickets and saw we were one box over. As we got to our box, there were three seats. Heidi sat in hers, I sat in mine, and the third was empty. It is something that we are going to have to get used to, one empty seat. We took pictures of the concert hall with our picture of Archer. It was a bittersweet moment.

The lights began to dim, and we watched as the 78 youth symphony members got to their seats and tuned their instruments. When it became quieter, the 177 youth chorus members filed into their respected spots; the featured singers came out, followed by the conductor with an approving ovation. Then it became quiet and the narration and singing about the betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ commenced.

This wasn’t meant to be an Archie Adventure, but with the theme of the night, and the angelic voices of the singers, it was hard not to hope for that day when we could sit next to our Archie. It also reminded us of how powerful the Atonement of Christ has become in our life, and having faith in Him and the resurrection we look forward to that day when we can truly be with Archer. But until that day, we will go on our Archie Adventures hoping that he can be with us when we travel around the world. We love you, Archer.