It is 12:08am and I can remember exactly what I was doing at 12:08am 1,460 days ago. It was the last birthday I was able to celebrate with a great friend of mine. I was walking into my first bar (legally) and meeting him and other friends. Sometimes, it seems like an eternity ago, sometimes it feels like it happened just yesterday.
I (and many others) lost my friend 4 months later.
Why do I remember him so vividly at this particular time in my life? It is strange. Maybe it was because I was the last of our group of friends to turn 21, maybe he was simply having a great time that night (he knew how to have a great time), maybe he was just being a great friend. Whatever it was, he made sure that everyone in that bar knew that it was “my” night and this was going to be a night to remember. He made sure that I knew that he was proud of me. Why, I couldn’t tell you. You had to see how happy he was to see me that night. “I still can’t believe you’re here, wow, happy frickin’ birthday buddy”. This is why I will never forget that night.
It’s both funny and sad the things that we remember. I can’t recall a word any other person said to me that night, that day, that week. But I can write a script right now as to everything he said on November 11, 2005.
Miss you Mike.
Thanks,
-Rob
