I’ve been wracking my brain as to when I came across this descanso and just couldn’t recall, until I zoomed in on the memorial itself, where its honored loved one’s photos adorn the wooden cross to the right. It appears I stopped at this one sometime in 2021, for that’s when the deceased young man, one Mikha Benedictus, seems to have shed his mortality, according to the center photograph’s epithet. It also was a recent construction at the time, as the photos weren’t faded yet and the flowers were fresh.
I do remember where it was, however. About three miles from my front door in fact, alongside a well-traveled ‘back road’ here in my hometown, one locals like to take north to south and vice versa across town instead of venerable Highway 101. And yes, it’s known for higher speeds, particularly at night, and the young man in question was clearly an aficionado for adrenaline, as evidenced by the photos of his sportsmanship and athletic wherewithal, including wakeboarding, a handstand in front of a waterfall, and a post by what was likely, and I’m just presuming here, part of the end of his journey here on earth, his motorcycle.
Yes, once again, we see what is possibly another premature passing aided by the ever popular, thrill-seeking, freedom-loving biker culture. Don’t mistake me, I happen to admire the biker lifestyle, though I was never a member myself. But when you’re flying through and about traffic at high speeds on an unprotected, two-wheeled vehicle, you’re definitely increasing your odds of risk and grievous bodily harm, in terms of navigating the SoCal byways, which are already pretty goddamned bloody, with or without the help of alcohol or dumbshit drivers, of which there are far, far too many across the boroughs of California. Believe me, I know. Adding high speed biking to the mix, well…that’s a proposition people take on at their own peril.
It matters little, however, because one way or another, Mikha’s passing at such a young age is a tragedy all the same, regardless of contest. The descanso itself was lovely, dual imprinted with not one but two wooden crosses, the second of which cited a common epithet often emblazoned on funerary markers and read aloud at wedding ceremonies, that of Corinthians 13: 4-8. There are two most commonly rendered examples of that biblical verse from Paul the Apostle, depending on whether it’s taken from the New International Version of the bible or the King James Version, but this is more or less what it says:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
People love quoting this one, because it’s biblical testament that love is forever. It’s a nice sentiment. Alas, as we all know, love is not so absolute in purity nor execution. True love is always messy, sloppy, subject to radical swings and hills and valleys. But for times of transition, be it the onset of a marriage or the denouement of a loved one, an idealized perfection of love sounds and feels pretty good to believe. Because we all need to believe the bonds we establish with those we love preservere, even in death.
I’m one of those rare, bumbling, beach bum type of drifting pseudo-shamans who happens to know that those bonds do indeed transcend death, time, space, and dimension.
How do I know?
It’s hard to explain in words, without me coming across like a raving fruitcake. Oh, I already do that, say you loyal readers? Ah well. I’m not going to dive into that here in my post-facto dedication to Mikha, but feel free to check out my deeper dive on that subject over here in The Bear and the Star.
Anyway…safer travels on those ether highways, bruh.
I kinda have a funny feeling wheeled transit isn’t necessary thereabouts.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Three years later, this descanso is still meticulously tended to, and improved upon, and most heartening, not removed by Cal Trans or the city of Goleta, even after near four years of time. Here’s its latest version, a cross augmented with golf ball turrets, a new racquetball paddle, new photos. Mikha’s memory is strong with his loved ones. That’s all we can ask for, after we’re gone. That, and plenty of fields and meadows in the next phase, to run naked among the animals and the aliens alike. :)
