Lucas Albion Herrin

Lucas was born on September 22, 2000 at 12:34 a.m. on the equinox. It was obvious from the moment he entered this world that he had a huge personality and loud voice that was going to be heard!

Lukes loved Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, the computer, vacuums, batteries, cd's, vinyl albums, tapes, the color yellow, sets of everything, and his family. He loved to give mama his "rock concerts" and to let me know everytime I sang that my voice was not good enough to sing Tom Petty songs. He loved to hang out with Daddy and ask as many questions about everything in life that he could come up with. Lucas had a curiosity about life that will never be matched.

He loved his big brother, Garrett, and although they behaved like typical brothers there are sweet memories of the two of them playing in their band together or listening to music. There were also many salamanders, frogs, and turtles that they caught together and took care of. Garrett released the 2 salamanders that they had caught the week before the accident so they could be free. Lucas loved to pick on his little brother, Landon, but he also loved him very much. If Landon fell on the floor Lucas would kick the floor and tell it to leave his little brother alone.

Lucas used to say that when we, his family, died we were all going to go to Saturn to be superheroes. Lucas is, I'm sure, a superhero in heaven that plays guitar and has probably taught the others about high speed internet and Tom Petty! He makes us so incredibly proud.

There is a huge hole in our lives. Our hearts will always belong to Lucas and we know the day will come when we are with him again. We will get to hug and kiss him (on his forehead only, of course) and tell him how much we love him and how very empty life felt without him.

He left this earth on July 2nd, 2005 in a tragic accident but he will never leave our hearts or our minds. He is with us in all that we do and he gives us little signs to remind us that we are always with him. We will see you soon, Lucas, in a much better place where things make sense again. And maybe we will all get to visit Saturn.

Thank you to Louise for showing us this wonderful site.

Thank you for all of the kind words that have been expressed.
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This was written by my Aunt Kay. It was written July 5, 2005, 3 days after the accident. I will always treasure it. My Aunt Kay and Uncle David lost their 20 year old son, Brian, in an accident over 25 years ago.

Hands along the way (for Lucas) :

Take my hand, dear little man
and do not be afraid.
Your journey won't be very long
Your passage has been paid.

This path looks dark and narrow
But see there along the way?
Are hands of every shape and size
and a light as bright as day!

The first pair of hands are Uncle Bob's
hardworking, strong and true...
With gentle strength and loving care
they will see you safely through.

To where Great Gramp is waiting
his hands outstretched in love.
Care worn and scarred but gentle
still - with guidance from above.

He'll take you further down
the path where others await.
These hands are young and strong and tan
and lead you to the gate.

The cousin's hands will guide you
right on to Heaven's shore -
where warm sun shines and
smiles abound and darkness is no more.

Take one last look, dear little man
look back a final time
and send a word to all of us -
the ones you left behind.

We cannot follow you just now
we've more work to do you see.
But know that our love goes with you
and we'll miss you constantly.

(From Lucas)

"It's okay here, Mom & Dad
this place is not so bad.
It's filled with all my favorite things
and no one here is sad.

Great Gramp and Uncle Bob are here
and cousin Brian too
and many more who know my name
but know that I miss you.

I think I'm going to like it here
in this very special place.
I'm safe and warm and loved a lot
as I wait, again to see your face.

So worry not about me
as we spend this time apart.
For one day we'll be together
I know this in my heart.

Some day the gate will open wide
and you'll travel as I came.
The very hands that brought me here
for you will do the same.

There will be one slight change of course -
I'm sure that you will see
my hands among the many
guiding you to eternity."

by Kay Leavitt

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This letter was written by Carol & Fred Leavitt who have always been and continue to be very dear friends. The letter was so touching to us that we wanted to share it. It expresses the beauty of Lucas and the impact he had and will always have on our world.

Letter to Lucas:

Lucas,

A year has past since you left. It's been a year of sadness, grief exceeding understanding and inevitable change. There have been changes out of necessity not wanted or expected, but life has changed.

Four short years does not seem very long to have impacted so many, so greatly. But your spirit, your uniqueness, your intelligence, your family bond has been the reason for a lot of the positive acts and deeds in those who loved you so dearly. You're also impacting people who never knew you. Your school is materially better, your classmates have greater opportunities, sick and disadvantaged children have received things they would not have. Your uniqueness has inspired a fund that is responsible for so many good things happening. What a legacy for a four old.

Thank you Lucas for your inspiration in the name of good and generous deeds.

Thank you Carol & Fred for always finding the most beautiful words.
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DAYS

Thank you for the days,
those endless days,
those sacred days you gave me.

I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me.
I bless the light,
I bless the light that shines on you,
believe me.

And though you're gone,
You're with me every single day,
believe me.

Thank you to Ray Davies for writing such a beautiful song.
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FOR MAMA & DADDY

I'll always be there with you,
and watch the sky at night.
Find the brightest star that's gleaming,
that's my halo shining bright.

You'll see me in the morning frost
that mists your windowpane.
That's me in the summer showers,
I'll be dancing in the rain.

When you feel a gentle breeze
from a gentle wind that blows,
That's me! I'll be there,
planting a kiss upon your nose.

When you see a child playing
and your heart feels a little tug,
That's me! I'll be there
giving your heart a big hug!

So, Daddy please don't look so sad,
Mama don't you cry.
I'm in the arms of family and friends
and they sing me lullabies.

(Again, thank you Louise)
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GOD'S GARDEN

God looked around his garden
and found an empty place
He then looked down upon the earth
and saw your beautiful face.
He put his arms around you
and lifted you to rest
God's garden must be beautiful
He only takes the best.
It broke our hearts to lose you
but you didn't go alone
A part of us went with you
The day God called you home.
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WRITTEN BY YOUR AMMY, LUKES:

There is a place in heaven
that in my dreams I see
You playing amongst the clouds
as happy as can be.

With wildflowers blooming
and Tom Petty booming
With ladybugs and butterflies
that wiggle of anticipation
twinkling in your eyes.

You are our little angel
and with your wings you fly
But here on earth your family
is still asking why?
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Lukes - this was one of the top stories yesterday (November 10, 2006). I am certain that is your way of saying hello to us and "look at my powers!". Thank you.


One-eyed monster storm seen on Saturn
It looks like an eerie, polar hurricane — but doesn’t act like one

• One-eyed space monster (storm)
Nov. 10: A massive storm churns near Saturn's south pole. Scientists say the system is two-thirds the size of the Earth's diameter. MSNCB.com's Dara Brown reports.
MSNBC.com


Updated: 12:42 p.m. ET Nov 10, 2006
A freaky storm two-thirds the diameter of Earth and unlike anything ever seen before has been spotted on Saturn.

The tempest, some 5,000 miles wide (8,000 kilometers), has an oddly human-looking, hurricane-style eye. But it is very different from a terrestrial hurricane, scientists said Thursday.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft photographed the huge storm. It swirls with 350 mph (560 kilometer-per-hour) winds at the ringed planet's south pole. It has a remarkably well-defined eye, ringed by clouds that soar 20 to 45 miles high (30 to 75 kilometers), or up to five times taller than hurricane clouds on Earth.

"It looks like a hurricane, but it doesn't behave like a hurricane," said Andrew Ingersoll, a member of Cassini's imaging team at the California Institute of Technology. "Whatever it is, we're going to focus on the eye of this storm and find out why it's there."

The storm's eye is clear of clouds, as with a hurricane on Earth. And the eye-wall clouds are also similar to those that surround the eye of an earthly storm. Researchers don't know if rising, moist air is fueling the clouds, as in a normal hurricane. But the storm's eye, eye-wall and spiral arms are all "hurricanelike," they say.

Yet this storm rotates around Saturn's south pole — astronomers say the pole seems to be within the storm's eye, and the system seems locked in place.

Other gas-planet storms, like the Red Spot on Jupiter and many smaller storms on both Saturn and Jupiter, do not have eyes.

This newfound storm's eye offers a window into Saturn.


"The clear skies over the eye appear to extend down to a level about twice as deep as the usual cloud level observed on Saturn," said Kevin Baines of Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "This gives us the deepest view yet into Saturn over a wide range of wavelengths, and reveals a mysterious set of dark clouds at the bottom of the eye."

Previous observations have shown that Saturn's south pole is warmer than other parts of the planet by about 4 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius).

"The winds decrease with height, and the atmosphere is sinking, compressing and heating over the south pole," said Richard Achterberg, a member of Cassini's composite infrared spectrometer team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

A short video of the storm is available here.

© 2006 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space

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March 18, 2007 Hi Lukes - I just read this interview with Tom Petty and thought you should too. I knew you would be held by his every word:

"Sid Vicious died for what? So that we might rock?" You've got to keep that in perspective. At the end of the day, they're just phonograph records.

Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I'm concerned, that's success.

I feel sorry for kids these days. They get so much homework. Remember the days when we put a belt around our two books and carried them home? Now they're dragging a suitcase. They have school all day, then homework from six until eleven. There's no time left to be creative. The hardest part for me is when my thirteen-year-old is complaining about the workload. I agree with him. I'm supposed to be responsible and support the teacher. But it's like, "You're right, son. This is (crap)."

If we're born in God's image, then God knows how we can (screw) up. And he knows that you really didn't mean it.

I like to be an optimist, but I like to be a realist, too.

The war in Iraq is shameful. Whether you're pro or con Bush, you've got to admit: The guy lied. And he continues to do so. I can't understand why he's just not run out on a rail. To send somebody's kids off and have them killed for no good reason -- he's going to have his day in hell for that. I wouldn't want that karma.

When you kill somebody's little sister with a missile, he's going to hate you forever. And the next generation will hate you even more.

The great thing about the Wilburys was that none of us had to take the heat by ourselves. I was just a member of the band. Nobody felt like he was above anybody else. We had such a good time.

There used to be this real sense of community integrity in rock. It has really eroded. Everyone seems to be on their own now.

When my record company rejected Full Moon Fever, I was hurt so bad. I was pretty far along in my career at that point. I'd never had anything rejected; I'd never really even had a comment. So when that happened, it was really just a board to the forehead. But then finally I picked myself up. I said, "I'm not buying this, there's nothing wrong, I really like this record." And then I waited awhile, until the top regime at the record company changed. And I came back and I played them the same record, and they were overjoyed. It turned out to be a huge hit.

"Free Fallin'" is a very good song. Maybe it would be one of my favorites if it hadn't become this huge anthem. But I'm grateful that people like it.

I guess if I were this age and nothing had gone right, it would really be bad.

What I've learned about marriage: You need to have each other's back; you have to be a kind of team going through life. That's beautiful-to have that kind of friendship. You're going to need it when you get old.

Rock 'n' roll was one thing, and then they chopped off the roll and called it rock, which became a sort of umbrella term for anything with a guitar in it. Like hair bands. How could we possibly believe that? It's just gotten downright silly, to the point where now it's sort of become like professional wrestling. The fans know it's phony, but they don't care.

I couldn't exist nowadays. I could never have built a career like I've had if I were just starting out now. Radio doesn't take a chance on anything anymore; they've streamlined the playlists to the lowest common denominator. It's really kind of silly that they think people would rather hear "Stairway to Heaven" one more time than a new song.

As you're coming up, you're recognized song for song or album for album. What's changed these days is that the man who approaches me on the street is more or less thanking me for a body of work -- the soundtrack to his life, as a lot of them say. And that's a wonderful feeling.

It's all an artist can ask.