Today I learned that a friend from childhood died over the weekend from a heart attack. He was 52.
52 is not a ripe old age. To complicate his life toward the end, he was also battling cancer.
Looking back, the signs were there. Though always tall, he seemed from my young eyes to carry a little more than was normal around the waist. I attributed this in my youth and ignorance to lack of an active lifestyle. Toward his end, that little extra vanished in Facebook photos. Again, in my ignorance, I attributed the weight loss to aging and as the result of good health habits; exercise, improved diet.
As it turns out, ignorance is not wasted on the young.
The sudden (to me) loss of my friend is hitting me hard, and harder than I ever would have predicted. We were on-again, off-again friends as kids, and Facebook helped us to reconnect. He often posted about his latest car acquisition or ski trip. Funny enough, one of the strongest memories I have of him is the ski trip we took back in the 70s to Bryce Mountain. I can still see him in my mind's eye.
And now, with him gone, what remains are memories. Tinged with the regret that I could have, should have, been more appreciative of the gentleness he brought to this world, is the observation that others are coming forward, via Facebook, to express their fond memories of him.
I've always said that one of the greatest pleasures of Facebook is that it allows me to bring the best people in the different phases of my life together in one place.
It looks like the best phases of my life just got a little more empty.
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