This was written by a young woman named Sara who did not know Kris, but she worked with a friend of Kris' who was at a different National Park.  Jason was having much difficulty in dealing with Kris' death, so Sara wrote this poem and gave it to him.  Then she sent a copy to me and told us to keep the faith and keep smiling.

Sara said the mention of Kris' name always put a smile on Jason's face.  Several weeks later, she was hiking by herself and the sun was setting, but beaming through the clouds, and the first thought she had was, "That is Kris."

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Sometimes a smile and a hug are a must
When your day collapses underneath you
Making you question God, who?
Your day went from good to bad
Your whole body became sad
Questioning life with no answers
Just kept asking why why why
Letting your eyes drain until dry
Remembering all the great times
Telling everyone how he was a rare kind
His loss is huge not just to you but society as well
You realize your hurt is quite real
Eventually the pain will subside and heal
And your heart will fully mend
Realize you're lucky, you knew him as a friend