Friends don't die, do they?

In the ideal world, they don't. But this is the real world, and yesterday's news that a friend from high school had died confirmed just how unfair the real world can be.

I have no words to explain how a guy who's always looked out for others, who had carved out a tremendous reputation as a comedian and writer, who was on his way to New York to do even bigger things, can suddenly be removed from the earth. We can ask "why?" until we're blue in the face and the answers will never come.

I'm glad I got to see him when he came to town to perform. I'm glad our lives crossed when we were kids, and again as we segued into adulthood. I'm left thinking he had so much more to do.

I hugged my family a little tighter last night, and again when they woke up today. I'm thinking about everyone whose lives we touch, and am wondering if we're all doing enough to stay connected, to let them know they matter. Because they do. He did.

Damn.