Jim — I was very touched by your honest & heartfelt words regarding the loss of your friend. Death makes no sense — I gave up attempting to rationalize it decades ago when I was a new nurse in the ICU. Some patients who were supposed to die — would miraculously live. Others who were on their way literally out the door would die unexpectedly. You would never know. I realized then — someone else was calling the shots. We were only here to bear witness to each other. Your post is a poignant and lovely witness to a man’s life. That he left behind a vivid and real memory for you to hold is the gift a life well lived. As long as someone remembers us, we are not gone. We just aren’t here anymore. Thank you for sharing your friend’s life story. He sounds like a wonderful soul. And you were surely blessed to have known him.