When I first heard the news that Wes Berggren had passed away, I experienced a deep sense of loss. It was as if I had lost a good friend.

I was a bit bugged by this. Having a Masters Degree in Counseling leaves me with the curse of constant self-examination. The thing that kept coming to me again and again was this: How can I feel such grief for someone that I had two conversations with over the course of three years. While observing the memorial I recalled the two conversations that I had with Wes.

The first one was at the now defunct Argo in Denton while Tripping Daisy was on their Time Capsule Tour. I had already had the privilege of speaking to Tim DeLaughter and Mark Pirro. And I really wanted to try to speak to Wes in an effort to make the magical night complete. After mistaking Lance Miller for Wes I meekly retreated to outside of the club. I then saw Wes and Tim getting ready for the nights show. I cautiously approached them and waited to be noticed before speaking. Wes turned and said "Hi". I then proceeded to tell him how, as a songwriter myself, their album "I Am an Elastic Firecracker' helped me get out of one of the worst cases of writer's block. While Tim cautioned that the band would be playing unreleased songs, Wes seemed genuinely floored. Wes asked me my name and along with Tim made his way into the club to prepare for the show.

The band played and was amazing. After the show, I walked up to Wes again. I told him that the new stuff was great and that they played a really good show. Drenched in sweat, he thanked me again.

The second time I spoke to Wes was at an AIDS benefit that the band did at The Groovy Mule in Denton. After another amazing show, I walked up to him and wished him a belated happy birthday. He again got that floored look on his face and asked how I knew about this birthday. I told him that I had read it on the lure tour page. He replied by saying that he didn't have a computer so that's why he was so shocked that someone knew. We talked for about five minutes before my friends and I had to leave.

On both occasions Wes was warm and actually listened to what I had to say. It seemed that when anyone talked to Wes, he made one feel like a friend. I honestly think the same could be said for any member of Tripping Daisy. Then, while sitting in the Church of Christian Unity on Greenville Avenue in Dallas it occurred to me. The reason that I was and am so affected by the tragedy of Wes' passing isn't because he was a gifted musician. It's because of the way he lived his life.

It was stated at the memorial that unlike the vast majority of people on this planet Wes did not live in quiet desperation. That he did what he loved and loved what he did. The thing in Wes that made him such and inspirational musician is the same thing that made him an inspirational human being. That's what shined through. That's why he will be missed. God Bless the memory of Wes Berggren.

Billy T. Branch, Jr.

Wes was a longtime friend of mine and I know there are many of you who knew him either personally, as an acquaintance or simply as a member of Tripping Daisy. Whichever the case, I would like to share with you what I knew about Wes in order to celebrate the beautiful life he left behind. Apart from being his friend, I had the opportunity to learn with him, make music with him and see the world with him. I know that Wes touched all of our lives and everyone has a different way of knowing him. In case you weren't aware, Wes was an extremely bright, smart and talented individual. It is so obvious after you note the fact that he was valedictorian of his high school class. And that he helped make some of the most wonderful music that I have known. But aside from that, I would like to focus a bit more on a part of Wes that I truly enjoyed. For me, it was his odd and terrif ic sense of humor. I remember the first time I realized it, we were in college together. Wes and I had gone to a bar and grill and ordered a few pitchers of beer. After a while we wanted to leave and decided that we couldn't f inish the last pitcher. As a wait person went by, Wes casually asked, "Could we get a doggie bag for this?" Immediately, I broke in hysterical laughter and for the rest of the evening, Wes and I kept reliving the moment if nothing more than to hear ourselves laugh again. He was quick and witty like that all the time. On another occasion, I had asked him what his grade point average was for his finishing semester. He calmly wrote on a piece of paper and held it up. The only thing that appeared on the paper was pie - the mathematical symbol for 3.14. Once again laughter ensued and it remained a joke for all the years that I knew him. And there were so many other times that he made me and our friends laugh. I'd love to go on, but as with most funny moments, you just had to be there. And I know a lot of you were. But if you didn't get a chance to know him that way, I'm sure he left you with some other wonderful gift to remember him by.

Because Wes was such a dynamic person, it wouldn't be fair to leave you with just that one facet of his life. And this is where it gets hard. It's almost impossible to sum everything up in a few short paragraphs. So as with most things in life, the best things are simple and I'd like to leave you with some simple things I knew about him.

Wes liked cold weather and enjoyed coffee in the morning
Wes loved to play the piano and he loved classical music
Wes liked grizzly bears
Wes liked to eat bearclaw danishes
Wes enjoyed carving and sculpting wood
He liked to play guitar - LOUDLY
Wes enjoyed being outdoors. He liked mountains and sunshine
Wes liked to be barefoot
Wes liked to be fearless
Wes loved astronomy, math and physics
He also liked the writings and thoughts of Stephen Hawking
Wes liked the movies, especially B rated movies like Congo.
He liked any movie with Chevy Chase in it
Wes enjoyed fishing and he liked to pole vault too
Wes liked to make his friends laugh
Wes loved to laugh with his friends
and finally, Wes loved all of you.

Mark Pirro

I knew a young guy named Wes for unfortunately a short amount of time. He had the most perfect white teeth with a smile even brighter. I think I liked his sense of humor best not only because he actually laughed at things I had to say. but he had the best personality. He was truly a genuine person. There is a specific memory I would like to share about the first time I met Wes. After Tripping Daisy played their show in Austin on May 7 of this year we all had gathered at the Travel Lodge. We learned Wes needed to go back to the music hall and pick up something very important to him; therefore, a group of us piled up in the D.V. at about 3:30a.m. and headed back out to Dessau. Yes, we were tired, yet we were keeping each other laughing and in good spirits for the duration. As a form of entertainment I decided to share my special Turkey song with Wes and incorporated his name in a cheer that I got from my old days back at Navarro College. With the van laughing and clapping (boosting my self-esteem), Wes turned around, smiling his brightest smile, and the only words that came out were, "That is the most deranged and fucked up thing I've ever heard". From that moment on, I felt an odd kinship and definitely a base for a growing friendship. The story may seem insignificant to most but for those who knew Wes it is definitely the little things that we will miss so much.

I will honestly miss you Wes. I feel honored to have known you.

Love Always,
Julie Mills

One Petal Lost. So long ago it seems, standing there in the midst of all these people, waiting for a DAISY. The aura of the intense experience waiting to commence fills the air in a massive orgy of anticipation. Then the DAISY takes the stage. In all its perfection it Is upon you, its many petals dancing before you to the rhythm its brethren play. Few instruments of equal beauty gathered before one central sphere of greatness. One petal stands apart and begins to take a life of its own, glimmering in the shine of stage lights with myriad bubbles floating on fuzzy blue robes. One petal fills the deepest tremors in your belly with bassy rumblin tumblin. Another fuels the step, keeping the majesty of sound and harmonization before you within the walls of sanity. Then it happens, that one moment in a song when a petal grabs you with his guitar and hangs on to a moment in time. When all the pleasure that has meant to bestowed upon your senses seems to be caught in just one moment in time. The petal grabs you. Needless to say, everything you trawled for, everything you dreamed of all rests on this one moment. The DAISY stands before you in complete perfection only when this moment happens. Can we have ever achieved that moment? Could we have ever appreciated the DAISY before us without this one moment when the petal, with its extraordinary guitar, froze that one moment in time? The answer is no. So the only question remains. What is a DAISY without its petals? What can be made of a DAISY with one petal lost?

Robert

TRIP
The ghost in her mirror
that bides in his shadow
it puts a heavy glow on the darkness,
placing your head in my heart
missing your voice by the minute,
the silence creeps up her back,
by the chills from my chest
now and then I take time to get away from it
so I fade in and out but you know I'll never leave
or will not ever be too far away to not be reached,
but I'll be here and if I drift
I'd like it more if you give me a clue,
showing my hope of us being next to one another.

Crystal Pyles

Wes was a terrific musician and a wonderful guy. I remember meeting him in Boulder, Colorado in the front of the club he, Tripping Daisy, was playing. I collected autographs and when their van pulled in I was there to meet and greet them. Wes was incredibly nice and from that day on every time I saw him we had a good time. I even saw him in Dallas. He will be missed. Wes, Keep'em Rockin'.

Autograph Man Tony