Uncle Mick, You Are A Firework

Uncle Mick, in the orange shirt on the left side of the photograph.

Sometimes you hear a song and it brings you these feelings that you were never expecting. It does not make sense. The lyrics do not really convey the story that your feelings are telling. It just brings you to tears for no reason. It makes you think of something that is just totally unexpected.

From now on every time I hear Firework, by Katy Perry I will remember my husband and my Uncle Mick. I was leaving work, last week, when I noticed several calls from my husbands family. I remember thinking that they must want to have dinner tonight or something and I was tired and wanted to go home and relax. How I wish now that that is what they wanted.

I turned down the radio to hear Ashley on the other end of the phone. I have some bad news, Lori... Uncle Mick was shot and killed earlier today... As the day progressed it became clear that this shooting was not an accident and the life of a wonderfully kind man was taken for no reason at all.

He was a Son, a brother, a father, a husband, a friend; he was our Uncle. I am saddened to say that we never even had the chance to get to know him like we should have.

Uncle Mick was in the midst of trying to get duel-citizenship between the US and Jamaica so that he could take care of and enjoy his family and friends in Jamaica while making a new life here in the U.S. with his bride. I was always so amazing to me the love that he had for our Aunt Brenda. He could have easily used his marriage to her to have basically automatic citizenship. However, he just would not have that. He was going to do it, in his words, the right way. No one would ever be able to say or think that he was using his beautiful bride.

This however, is all beside the point. My point here is that we will miss our brother, father, husband, friend, Uncle, etc. deeply and no amount of apology with ever heal our wounds. And we will definitely never forget or forgive the senseless lies that were told by Kingston police.

We will know, always, in our hearts that Frederick Malcolm Hill (Mickey, Mick, etc.) is... was a very good, loving, kind, caring, amazing man.

Read about Uncle Mick here, or the outpouring of love his community has poured over him here, or if you knew him you can comment here.

You are a firework, Uncle Mick...