“Good morning, can you all hear me?”
The crowd murmured yes.
“OK, wonderful. Thank you so much for coming to this Channel 9 remembrance for Faith Richards. You can see how many lives she touched just by looking at the size of this incredible crowd. Faith was a special person to all of us. I’m Hilary Sanfilipo, director of human resources for Channel 9. I will be your emcee today. We have several guest speakers lined up, we’ll also play some of Faith’s favorite music, and we have a nondenominational prayer for those who wish to take part. Our first guest speaker is our news director, Perry Schofield. Perry?”
There was polite clapping, and a man stepped forward and started to talk about how he had recognized that Faith had that special TV magic the very first time he saw her on the air, how he followed her career and just knew he had to get her back to her hometown one day, how thrilled he was when she returned to Detroit and how she transformed local TV news with her videos and earring forecasts. He kept his composure until the very end, when he choked up saying how much he would miss her and that he couldn’t believe this was really happening. Coughing, he looked down and wiped at his left eye as the crowd sniffled along with him.
Hilary then brought up some other people from the behind-the-scenes part of Channel 9: the general manager, who said hehad never worked with a more popular meteorologist; the creative services director, who said he was in charge of making promotional videos and commercials about the weather team and loved the bonding of the meteorologists; the eleven o’clock executive producer, a woman named Laura, who had a baby strapped to her chest in one of those carrier things and said that Faith was exactly like what you saw on TV—warm, genuine, and kind to everyone.
At first there didn’t seem to be any on-air people, and Carol was disappointed. Who really cared about the GM anyhow? But as Laura wrapped up, she said, “And now we’ll bring out Tom, Veronica, and Roger as well as the weather team.”
There was a gasp from the crowd as the anchors started walking from behind a makeshift curtained area behind the gazebo. People began to murmur and crane their necks. Carol heard a woman a few chairs over hiss, “Tom is even more handsome in person!” Somebody else was wondering if these celebrities would be giving autographs. Carol thought this talk was a bit inappropriate at a vigil for someone’s life, but she also couldn’t help noting herself that Roger was indeed taller than she had thought and Veronica was a little shorter and was getting a bit of middle-aged thickness around her waist.
Tom stepped to the microphone.
“Channel 9 viewers are the most loyal viewers in Detroit, and I think we can all safely say that Faith had the biggest following of any of us.”
The crowd applauded. Carol’s eyes shot to the members of the weather team, who were all looking down at the stage. Matthew shifted back and forth on his feet and kept scratching at his cheek. He looked tired again.
“I’m going to speak first today and then we will all share somethoughts,” said Tom. “We are broken to pieces, shattered, and still in a deep state of shock. But the warmth you are showing our Channel 9 family is lifting us all up.”
He proceeded to share a few memories of Faith and silly things they had talked about on and off the air, plus how she was so nice to his grandchildren when they visited. Taking the mic off its holder when he was done, he handed it to Veronica, who talked of Faith’s wonderful sense of style and how kind she was to every coworker. Roger was next and he said she made the show better every night and pushed them all to be their best. Roger passed the microphone to Matthew. He coughed and stepped forward, looking uncomfortable.
“I, uh, I said this on the air before my weathercast last night but she was creative and had a big heart and we’re all going to miss her… so much.”
He handed the microphone to Abby, who spoke for a few minutes but got so choked up she had to pass it to Chuck. He only said a few words and passed it back to Tom.
“So there you have it,” said Tom. “To equate it to weather terms, Faith was a lightning bolt who came into all of our lives, the best kind of lightning bolt, because then she filled our lives with sun. Faith, wherever you are… this isn’t fair, we vow justice on your behalf, and we miss you.”
He passed the microphone back to Hilary and looked up to the sky as a collective sob came from the crowd. Carol took out a tissue from her fanny pack and wiped at the tears now rolling down her cheeks.
“We’ll play one of Faith’s favorite songs now,” Hilary said. “As Tom so eloquently put it, she was always looking for fair weather and the sunny side of life.”
Hilary nodded at someone offstage and the Beatles’ “HereComes the Sun” began. The Channel 9 group onstage put their arms around each other and started swaying. People in the audience seemed to have a variety of emotions: Some were singing along, even smiling; others were crying harder than ever. Carol felt a lump in her throat too big to allow her to sing, but she tapped her hand on her knee slowly to the beat and thought,What a perfect song for Faith. She was an absolute ray of sunshine.
When the song ended, Hilary stepped to the microphone again.
“Faith’s sister, Hope, told me that Faith also liked Barry Manilow’s music. So I chose this next song and I think it’s extremely fitting.”
She motioned again to the person cuing the music, and “Can’t Smile Without You” started playing. This one evoked even more emotion than “Here Comes the Sun,” and a sob rippled around the vigil. The lump in Carol’s throat turned back into a flow of tears on her cheeks, and she pulled out another tissue and wiped at her face. Barry Manilow was one of her favorites too, and she felt even closer to Faith knowing they had this in common.
The TV cameramen around the park were getting right into people’s faces at this key moment, really looking for that emotional reaction shot to things, Carol guessed. When the camera came near her, she turned her head so the producer or whoever it was who picked the shots would not choose her. She did not want to be on TV looking like she did, a little sweaty from another warm day and also wearing mustard yellow, not her best color.
The song ended and there was an awkward moment of silence with nothing but the sounds of sniffling and nose-blowing. Hilary walked back to the mic.
“We’re going to close this vigil with a prayer now. Some of you have asked about a funeral. Faith’s sister tells me it will be very small, family only, and completely private. Others have inquired if there will be a balloon release. At Channel 9 we don’t condone balloon releases because they are documented as unhealthy for the environment, but we do have several doves in a cruelty-free extra-large cage with a professional animal handler. You’ll see that to my left. The handler will release the doves into the air immediately after the prayer. If you are physically able, please stand; if you are so inclined, please bow your head; and if you are also so inclined, please take the hand of the person next to you. We’re all family today, all members of Faith’s Fair-Weather Friends Fan Club. Faith has brought us all together, just as she would have wanted.”
Most people stood, including Carol. The woman next to her reached for Carol’s hand, and Carol took it. Holding a stranger’s hand always felt odd and a little uncomfortable, but she pushed the thought away and focused on Faith. Hilary invited a Lutheran pastor to the microphone. The pastor led them in a prayer about missing the ones we love but how we’re better for knowing and loving them in the first place. He added that we must persevere through adversity and help each other and that sadness is a part of the human experience but so is comfort and joy and we can eventually find both in the memories we share.
Closing her eyes, Carol pictured Faith as she wanted to remember her: onscreen in front of the seven-day forecast, smiling with red lipstick, her hair flowing and perfectly curled, her tiny waist in some fashionable outfit, those bright blue eyes that always popped so beautifully, her long lashes, and of course some fun earrings.
Even though it was nondenominational, a good number of people said “Amen” when it was over. All eyes went to the animal handler, who slowly opened a very large white cage to release the chalk-gray doves into the air. The fluttering of their wings was the only noise apart from some sniffling. Carol took her phone out and managed to quickly grab a photo of the doves before they got too far away, for Olivia.
Hilary told them that the doves going to the sky was a fitting tribute for Faith’s love of Mother Nature and weather. The vigil was over, Hilary added, but they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted. Channel 9 was providing coffee, lemonade, water, and cookies on several long tables to the side of the gazebo, and there were free umbrellas for everyone to remember Faith by.
Carol texted Jim to start heading back. She was folding up her camping chair and contemplating getting a cookie and a cup of lemonade when the woman who had been holding her hand during the prayer struck up a conversation.
“Hello,” she said in a sort of nasally voice, glancing down at Carol’s name tag. “Are you a Fair-Weather Friends Fan Club member, Carol? I am too.”
