2021: Covid takes another
 

He was a really good guy who almost always wore a smile and had a kind word. He was smart and really interesting. He'd traced his ancestry back to Scotland and played the bag pipes. He traced it further back to the vikings and was into that and made his own mead. He was also a trained sushi chef that was very into the traditional stuff. He made sushi for my wife and I and it was some of the best that we'd ever had, and we've had some amazing sushi. He was also in a Rockabilly band.

Almost a week ago, his wife posted on his facebook account that he was in ICU on a ventilator with covid pneumonia. There were one or two days where things looked up, then they looked down. This morning she posted that he passed away last night. I was curious, but didn't ask if he'd been vaxed. Another buddy that still works with him thinks it's unlikely, and that wouldn't surprise me.

I'm pretty sure that his daughter is 12-14.

2021 is shaping up to be a bit of a downer. Earlier this year, my old Aikido teacher passed. He reminded me a bit of one of my grandfathers. It was sad but not surprising as he had pretty advanced COPD. I think he lived a lot longer than had been predicted.

A coworker, one of the nicest guys I'd ever met, who moved his family from India to Houston was taken by cancer too.

I guess this is the kind of thing that happens as you get older and stay in one place.

As you get older...

Yes, as the number of old buddies becomes a dropping single digit, you begin to wonder how you managed to hang around as long as you have.

At first it's war and accidents, then the medical causes begin...

Remember them fondly, knowing that soon enough, it'll be your turn.

Sorry about the loss of your friend Steve. Doesn't sound like he was very old either.... just sucks. May he RIP...

Thanks.

Yeah, I'm not sure exactly how old, but my guess is 40-46 or so.

Having grown up with a dad in the Navy and moving around every 2.5-3 years, I don't have a lot of long term friends, and when I moved, I always left them behind and made new friends. If it weren't for the Internet, I probably wouldn't know. I haven't seen him in years, but both the wife and I would mention him from time to time and talk about getting together with he and his wife to have dinner. Thankfully, because of facebook, I'd been able to keep in casual contact.

What pains me the most about it is thinking about his wife and daughter and their loss.

It's similar to the Indian guy that passed earlier this year. He brought his wife and kids to Houston. I think they'd been here 3-4 years and then he passed away. So his wife and kids now, not only didn't have their husband/father, but were also half a world away from their extended family support group.

My age. The idea of my own 8 year old daughter losing her dad, having to attend dad's funeral, go on living without dad is infinitely more awful than the idea of my own death.

Godspeed to your friend masraum.

Exactly.

Thank you.