posted 04-26-2006 02:08 PM                  

...I met my friend Mike in junior high school, we were always good friends, instant buddys....later in high school I dated his sister, and we were still good friends....we always spoke, bull shitted each other, always had a few quick witty words to poke each other with just for grins....he sold me several cars in the last few years including a new Jeep a few weeks ago....I always considered him a buddy and friend from the "old days" when we were young punks...when we were teenagers we were at a party and he was ran over by a car while he was passed out in a haystack, and to this day I always asked him about the "stripe" he had from the accident, he still had tire tread marks on his chest from that incident....just a general good guy....

...yesterday Mike committed suicide....how well did I really know him....I realized I don't know why he did it,I realized I don't even know where he lived or how many kids he had....there is speculation as to why, but no one will probably ever know what drove this bubbly friendly guy to decide to not come back from lunch, ever again...

...how well did I really know my old friend, apparently not nearly as well as I thought...how much time do people really spend listening to other people talk, maybe not enough...could anyone have helped him, who knows....just a tremendous waste of life....

......."we drink beer, we drink wine,
.......we're the Class of '69 "

RIP old friend....

posted 04-26-2006 03:02 PM                  

You may never find the answers about your friend but maybe it will help you think about your other relationships in a different light.

posted 04-26-2006 03:25 PM                    

Life is complex and had you known him better and been there everyday, you still may not have been able recognize or do anything.

On the other hand, the folks you do know better, maybe you've enriched their lives and kept one of them from thinking of something like this.

posted 04-26-2006 09:07 PM                  

quote:

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Originally posted by BradleyG:
Larry, Sorry about your friend. Thanks for posting, as it helps me to think more about my friends and value my relationships with them. Brad

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...as I get older I tend to visit funeral homes on a more regular basis, this week 2 of my classmates have passed....I realize age is creeping up on me, but these people weren't really that old.....it does make you stop for a few minutes and remember the good times, and hope there are plenty more ahead...never take friends or family for granted, never pass up an opportunity to visit your kids or grandkids...just lay down what you are doing and take the kids to the Dairy Queen, the work will be there when you return....your kids grow up, time passes and you need to reach out and taste all of life you can, one day you wake up in a box and it is too late to change these things.....

.....I just find it so sad when an individual sees no way to face life and feels suicide is the only option....my uncle chose this way out when I was a kid and ironically it was the same exact method my friend chose yesterday....my uncle had been a federal fugitive for over 15 years and had built a respectable life when the federal agents finally located him, rather than possibly face decades behind bars he chose what he thought was the only way out....

...you can have all the money and toys in the world, but time is one thing we never can have too much of...