A friends departure

Christopher King left this earthly plain last week.  He was a friend of mine from my short term employment at Staples after I retired.  He departed at 36; many are saddened by his passing and remember the impact he left.  When I met him, he was tethered to an oxygen generating mobile device that he carried on his back. I had never seen one of these before.  I whirred intermittently as the oxygen was transmitted to him.  Periodically he had to change out the battery and I lifted the backpack once.  It was quite heavy.  Chris wore this day in and day out.  This young man was born with immature lungs leaving him with this life long need.

He was a swell guy, helping customers out with computer and tech problems always greeting them with a smile.  And he was good at his job.  At one point in my time there, he generated the biggest one time sale of computer stuff to a happy customer.  He was also a pianist,  playing at church venues and supper clubs.  

Because of this condition, Chris probably knew his life would be short,  so he had little time to waste.  His family is quite religious.  They will probably speak about God's plan for Chris.  I see a different metaphor for him.  We can learn kindness from a short life.  We can to more with our lives, like he did. He and I did not see eye to eye politics and that's ok.  I miss our time together.

Rain in Berkley today.  I hope is stops for the kids tonight.  I really miss being a home owner and seeing them run along gathering the bounty of the night.  Most have parents shivering along and smiling some snitching a candy bar or two.

that's it

all for now

stay dry and safe