True Love is a sacred flame that burns eternally..and none can dime its special glow..or change its destiny..true Love speaks in tender tones..and hears with gentle ears..true Love gives with an open heart..and true Love conquers fear..true Love makes no harsh demands..it neither rules nor binds..true Love holds with gentle hands the hearts that it entwines..the key to Love is understanding..the ability to understand not only the spoken word..but those unspoken gestures..the little things that say so much by themselves..the key to Love is forgiveness..to accept each other's faults and parton mistakes..without forgetting..but remembering what you learn from them..true Love means Loving more than you can ever find the words to say!

Merry Christmas from me and the family we miss you so much. Still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I can’t pick up the phone and call you when I want to

I feel your embrace in my breath as I inhale.......the vision of your face surrounding me......so softly become part of me......my eyes close as I  exhale......I know what I choose.......my heart yearns for your tenderness.....I feel you near me my Love......an ever persistent reminder from above.......your creation of emotion wrappped in sweet  expressive devotion.....our souls create our story of divine Love and intuition made from our dreams in the moonbeams.......such a reality it seems......yet this aching knowing of our Love flows through my bloodstream.......I feel stronger......I feel you here with me.......sending waves of bliss inside of me......oh how I desire for you to be.........yes this is our reality as you ever so lovingly show me.......now you have only to flow with me.......literally My Love.....I'll always be yours!

Sooner or later we begin to understand that True Love is more than just verses and valentines and romance in the movies....we begin to know that True Love is here and now....real and True....the most important thing in our lives....for True Love is the creator of our fondest memories....and the foundation of our fondest dreams....True Love is a promise that is always kept.....a fortune that can never be spent....a seed that can be flourished in even the most unlikely places....and this radiance that never fades....this mysterious and magical joy....is the greatest treasure of all....one known only by those who Love Truely

When connnection are real....they simply never ever die......they can't be buried......they can't be ignored.....they can't be walked away from.......NEVER broken......If you've deeply resonated with another person......the connection remains......despite any distance......time......situation......lack of presence......or circumstance

On this day, September 30, 1977,  my beloved and I made the vow to love and cherish each other for the rest of eternity......that seemed like just yesterday....I knew not of a time when we would be faced with the job to live the journey of our souls......where recognition goes deeper than language......where you once again live heart to heart and soul to soul.....

When two souls call to each other.......the universe hears the whisper and conspires to bring them together........in the world of spirit.......distance is not an issue and time is not a barrier........Two souls who have found each other and hold on to the hand of the Divine......will see Heaven and Earth move to make a way for their Love

Tony was such a great protector, He was like my guardian angel, and treated me as if I was a precious jewel. No matter where I went, he always made sure that I was safe. While attending nursing school in 1985, I got dubbed by my classmates and called "Mz. curb side", because he would pull up right in front of the school always on time to pick me up.........How I miss my beloved..........I will love you until infinity runs out!

This is a picture taken of Tony around 1960.......little did he know that he would have such a huge impact on so many lives.

So I was standing over the sink pouring potatoes from the bag to prepare some potatoe salad. I had been crying for a while, and continued to do so over the sink. I called out to my beloved "I love you" and right at that instance this heart shaped potatoe fell from the bag!..........I checked the whole bag of potatoes to see if any others were mis-shaped.....but every other one was shaped perfectly...........

When two souls are meant to connect....location, timing, and circumstances are all irrelevant.......They suddenly become a magnet for one another......and despite their efforts to fight it, the universe somehow manipulates it all in their favor......and in that moment.....when they finally give in.....a new LOVE is born.

What greater Love is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for eternity?.....to strengthen each other....to be at one with each other......in silent unspeakable memories........

When you're young you want to do everything together. When you're older, you want to go everywhere together. When you've been everywhere and done everything, all that matters is that you're together!.........

My oldest daughter had a dream about Tony on valentine's day morning.  He instructed her to get up and order flowers for me for valentine's day. She had no idea of how she was going to go about it.  At 2:00 her doorbell rang, and it was the florist. Her husband had ordered flowers for her. This was her opportunity, so she asks if he had an extra bouquet. He told her that he normally wouldn't  but that he had one more left. So she paid  him to deliver them to me. Imagine my surprise when I answered the door with a delivery from "Tony Byrd"!

My beloved and me at the tender age of 18. We were so much in love! 

From sin to goodness

From friendship to divine love

From soul thrist to Holy desire

From Romeo to Juliet

From God to his goodness

From lust to love

From kissing to hugs

From hugs to intimacy

From intimacy to Heaven

From Heaven to love

From love to light

From light to liberation

So I wait for you like a lonely house, till you will dwell in me and live in me again, till then my windows ache.......

Musicians are strange, complicated beautiful souls who are not at all easy to live with. Tony would live and breath drum beats. He would always humm a tune while using his fingers as drum sticks. Even in his sleep, he was playing drums. Sometimes he would humm a song, the same song for hours at a time. Music was his soul. I feel blessed to have been married to someone who is so dedicated to music and the instrument that he loved so well.

The day he touched my hand, little did he know it would be the day he would touch my heart forever!

R&B worked well for Tony in the 80's, it was what the fans wanted to hear, their favorite songs performed by someone that they could see and touch. Even for a man with God given natural talent, he worked hard to preserve his licks and chops as to not miss a beat on stage.

We were always coming up with new ways to thrill the crowd. One in particular, where he would begin a solo then play his way off of the drums onto the walls, unto the floor, then he would make his way over to the tables and tantalize party goers before making his way back upon to the stage and onto his drums, all without missing a beat. It was amazing! One of the most incredible things that I have ever seen a musician do. He gained the name "Little Drummer Boy" and this reign lasted for years, and many came out just to see him perform this task. But as my beloved started getting older, so did this particular performance. He would say...."This takes a lot out of me, my knees are not what they use to be".

Nights were long, memorable, and often rewarding in the music world. Most of the time, they say you get out of it what you put into it. But sometimes our greatest most beloved musicians remain unseen by most of the world. And that I must say is a travesty. When a great musician bears his soul to the world, that is definatly a must see.

These excerpts are from a book that I had began writting about my husband about a year before he passed.

This show of love is dedicated to my husband who was one of the finest and artistic musicians in this city. His dedication was overwhelming to say the least. His journey was long and tedious a never ending glare of music lights and people.......RIH my beloved

You are the most beautiful thing that I keep inside my heart!

Tony was one of the most dedicated musicians that I have ever met in my life. His passion for music along with his eagerness to please his audience, is overwhelming. Tony and I met in 1975 at the age of eighteen years old. By this time he was well groomed, and had a poised maturity way beyond his years. I was mezmerized by his talent and his committment to his instrument. He told me that I was different than any women he had met, and we fell hopelessly in love. Our committment to each other was binding, and it shook up the music family. And thus began my paralel journey with my beautiful musician husband and best friend. Life with Tony has been pure bliss, one of the best decisions I made in my life. He showed as much passion and dedication in our marraige as he showed in his music.

From 1970-1975 he played in different cities with bans like Frank Sims and the Zodiac review, Soul Renosance, Ray Odom and the Lasiers,and Orpheus phase ll.As a very young musician, he had matured alot. The musician life was all he knew. But he still managed to keep a level head. He saw a lot more than most young men his age, from drugs to women, to dirty after hour joints that stayed open until dawn. He knew that he was born to be part of this life, but still he was sheltered by family and friends because of his age.

By 1975 he was a well seasoned musician who was well known in the R&B circuit in the city of Cleveland. His ability to perform well on drums, landed him in relationships with older women and friends who were twice his age. But through these relationships, he gained respect and knowledge for his hopes for his future as a musician. People seemed to love "Tony Byrd" for his unique style of playing and his passion for giving a stellar performance. For this, he stood out from other drummers of his caliber. He would tell me "each of us has our own path".

.....Mr. Tic Toc....all in time....The Dr. of solid pop and chop!!!!

--Marty Puljic--

His mother brought him his first set of drums under the condition that he practice everyday. After all this was the second instrument for her restless son. He kept his promise and practiced until she was able to sleep through it.

In 1969 at the age of thirteen, he landed his first gig in a club. He was the youngest in the band, so his mother had to escort him and shelter him because of his young age. Clubs were not a place for a thirteen year old, so under the supervision of his mother, he matured much older than his age. He recieved support from his family and other musicians who encouraged his unique talent. everyone knew this was what he was born to do. Especially his uncle who is a renowed musician who was older by some years,but he knew that Tony was "unique". He would later challenge Tony, "When you can out play me on drums, then you can play in my band". Tony took the challenge and a couple of months later, he called his uncle over for a rehersal. As they say, the rest is history. Thus began the career of my Drummerman Tony Byrd.

It was hard for a young black youth back in the 70's, with peer preasure and all sorts of radical goups. Many youth lost focus, while college was not always an option. Some guys opted to play music. It was something they could share common ground on. My Tony's journey fits snug into that catagory. At the age of thirteen, he knew that he was meant to do something special in life. He  was the oldest of two sisters and his mother was a nurse who worked night shift. There were a lot of musicians in his neiborhood particularly drummers, so he began by playing guitar. After conviencing his mother to buy his first, he excelled with playing, but was not satified. He always liked drums, but a few of his friends played, so he continued with his guitar lessons. One day a school friend who played drums ask him to stop by. Tony told him that he also played drums even though he did'nt, he had never touched a set of drums in his life. After his first visit with his young friend, he began his playing career. After a couple of months of practice, while visiting with his friend after school,  his friend's dad ask him if he would play for his band, and there it began. He had found something that set him apart, something that he really loved with a passion.

From the moment that I met you, I felt such a deep connection to you. There is something. A knowing there without knowing, I feel like I was waiting for you. Like I always knew you. To have denied this would have been denying a part of my very own heart and soul.

 Time whispers the memories of our love laying vivid on the pages of my soul......the promises of eternity exchanged.......the entwinning of our hands........that tight embrace at the sunset........the expression of love that could fill a universe of souls........your eyes my love had been the essence that mantained my being alive through the infinate existence of lives........once more life was pumped into my heart, my soul, and body,I look at you........the best that lingers in my soul........the very best of me.

When two hearts beat at the same frequency

When two pains have one medicine

When two journeys have one destination

When two songs have one melody

When two lips have one word

The gift he had, he shared with  everyone, he was an original. He went with his mission accomplished. All he wanted to do was play music and give people something to remember him by......RIH my Beloved

Tony was one of the most compassionate persons that I have known. He had a special love for his fellow musicians. I once complimented him on how great he was and he replied to me that "every musician is great". I thought to myself, I have got a shining star.

We took love to a whole nother level! Fear of seperation will do that.

I have been given a cherished and beautiful gift and I will always be eternally grateful.

If ever two were one, than surely we

If ever man was loved by wife, then thee

If ever wife was happy with man, compare with me, ye women if you can

I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold

Or all the riches that the east doth hold

My love is such that rivers cannot quench

Nor ought but love from thee give recompence

Thy love is such I can no way repay

The Heavens rewards thee manifold I pray

Upon the passing of my beloved husband Tony, I was forced to come upon the realization of death. But not like you would think. People have been passing away in my life since I was young. But this was different. This would shock me to the core. My soul would bleed for him. Little did I know that our deep passionate love would continue after death.

Tony Byrd age 60 was born in 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio to Leroy and Annie James Byrd. He was the only boy of five sisters, and attended Cleveland Public schools where at the age of thirteen, he was introduced to the world of music.

He performed his first gig at the tender age of thirteen in an afterhour club where his mother had to chaporone him. By the age of fifteen, he was known as a prodogy and a professional musician, and was playing several main circiuts in the Cleveland area.

In 1975 at the age of eighteen he met and married the love of his life Deborah who would end up being his biggest fan and his eternal partner. They produced two sons and two daughters from this union.

Tony shared a deep love for his family that can not be described in words, and they were his greatest love. Besides his family, playing drums was his only other passion. He had a deep love for his fellow musicians, and he loved being a entertainer, and I use the word "entertainer" specifically because those of you who have had the pleasure of enjoying his playing knew that he did not just play drums to play, but played to entertain.

Tony and I spent forty-one beautiful, passionate years together and I am so very grateful, proud and honored to be the one he shared his world with. Tony was the most loving and compassionate person who would always put others needs before his own. We love and miss Tony more than words can say, and we feel his presense everyday.

God saw that you were getting tired and a cure was not to be

So he put his arms around you and whispered "come home with me"

With tearful eyes we watched you suffer, and saw you fade away

Although we loved you deeply, we could not make you stay

Your golden heart stopped beating, A determined spirit was at rest

God Broke our hearts to prove to us, he only takes the best.