PATIENCE, STAMINA, DETERMINATION, KEEPING FOCUS TO MY CORE GOAL, these are Costa's own words explaining how he approached each new challenge. Costa led his life so that with each experience he was determined to learn, grow and improve himself. He never took anything for granted and was incredibly humble in his brilliance.

Those of you who know Costa have seen the sparkle in his eyes, the sweet smile on his face and if you think back, you realize how comfortable and happy he made you feel in his presence. He had this natural way of being Perfect.

When Jen first introduced us, it was by telephone, so Costa and I set up a lunch and had so much to say that I never touched my food. From that one date we gravitated to each other and I felt like I was in a dream. My prince charming had arrived and swept me off my feet. Costa brought logic into my life, completely redefined the Greek male to me and offered a refreshingly new approach to the art of debating.

Together we took email to the next level and a telephone call was considered a special treat. During our time together Costa tried to teach me the finer points of blackjack, tavli and of course Costa was always the winner. He also made it his goal to enhance my Greek, he said he loved the way I spoke, but for some reason each time I did, he pulled out the index cards and began practicing certain words with me. Hmm, I think that was a hint, but as always Costa took great care on his approach, never wanting to hurt someone's feelings.

Little did we know we were on the road to finding our rainbow.

There is so much I want to say about Costa and I at times feel my own words are not adequate enough to express how I feel. So, I would like to share a message that I know with all my heart to be true.

There is a large diamond to be found inside each person. The diamond has a thousand facets, but the facets are covered with dirt and tar. It is the job of the soul and with God's grace to clean each facet until the surface is brilliant and can reflect a rainbow of color.

Now some have cleaned many facets and gleam brightly, others have managed to clean only a few so they do not sparkle, yet underneath the dirt, each person possesses within his or her breast a brilliant diamond. The diamond is perfect, not one flaw. The only difference among the people is the number of facets cleaned. When all the facets are cleaned and shining forth in a spectrum of lights, the diamond returns to the pure energy that is was originally. The light remains, it is as though the diamond is reversed. All the pressure is released. The pure energy exists in the rainbow of lights and the lights possess conscious, knowledge and great love.

To me Costa is this pure diamond, this energy and though he is not with us physically, his energy exists to comfort and love us always. I embrace myself in this truth and because of it, I will always appreciate each moment spent learning, laughing and enjoying all of life's pleasures. It's God greatest gift to all of us and Costa is home.

So with everything you've heard this afternoon, I believe you can see how and why today is a celebration of Costa's life. He is an inspiration to all of us and my greatest hope is that we continue in his footsteps, always smiling, always seeing the positive in every situation and facing each new challenge with PATIENCE, STAMINA AND DETERMINATION KEEPING FOCUSED TO THE CORE GOAL.