Benny
I don't know how to start this. I don't know how to understand it. A good friend of mine passed away Thursday night. A great guy. One of the kindest and sweetest men I had ever met. I don't know a soul who didn't like him; he was always there to offer you a smile, or an ear, or a joke if needed. He loved to talk movies, books, computers, technology; he was a geek - but then, how could else could he fit in at work? - and he was a scholar. He was a year older than me, and he died of acute respiratory infection. He had been sick for a week.
I don't know how to live in a world where this happens. He was not a sick man, though he has had health issues in the past. I saw him a week before; he was at the Urgent Care I took Phil to b/c he had laryngitis. He told me he probably had ARI; he had had it once or twice before, and recognized the symptoms. When he talked to me about it, it seemed so run of the mill. Simple and easy, get some antibiotics and then go home.
And now I'm preparing to go to his funeral. I want to understand it. I need to understand it. I know this world isn't logical most of the time; I didn't need the reminder. Today (since it is after midnight) is also my aunt's birthday. My aunt who passed away 11 years ago. Who was also sick suddenly and died almost before anyone knew what was going on.
It's no easier to deal with this at 27 than it was at 16. It's harder, even. At 16, I could still cling to some kind of optimism, some kind of naivety, that this is unusual. That these things don't normally happen. I can no longer lie to myself about that anymore.
Benny was a great man. He will be missed by all who knew him. And I hope that wherever his journey takes him, he is able to take our love along.
I don't know how to live in a world where this happens. He was not a sick man, though he has had health issues in the past. I saw him a week before; he was at the Urgent Care I took Phil to b/c he had laryngitis. He told me he probably had ARI; he had had it once or twice before, and recognized the symptoms. When he talked to me about it, it seemed so run of the mill. Simple and easy, get some antibiotics and then go home.
And now I'm preparing to go to his funeral. I want to understand it. I need to understand it. I know this world isn't logical most of the time; I didn't need the reminder. Today (since it is after midnight) is also my aunt's birthday. My aunt who passed away 11 years ago. Who was also sick suddenly and died almost before anyone knew what was going on.
It's no easier to deal with this at 27 than it was at 16. It's harder, even. At 16, I could still cling to some kind of optimism, some kind of naivety, that this is unusual. That these things don't normally happen. I can no longer lie to myself about that anymore.
Benny was a great man. He will be missed by all who knew him. And I hope that wherever his journey takes him, he is able to take our love along.