April 8, 2004
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I went to a friend's funeral yesterday.
He wasn't a super close friend, but I worked with him in the late 80's at the publishing company. We called him "Weird Paul," a nickname he liked. Paul was one of those real genuine people ... always meant what he said and said what he meant. He was just a nice guy. He was also an awesome photographer and a really funny guy.
I found out he killed himself on April 1st. I'm not sure why, but his death really hit me hard. I don't know if it was the suicide aspect or the fact that it was someone close to me that took their own life, but it's been gnawing at my brain for the last 4 days. Word was, he hung himself in the Apartment complex he was living in, and his wife found him on the ground after the rope had broken. The service was open casket. It was strange seeing his body laying in the box ... it didn't look like him at all. Which is right, because he wasn't there.
It was nice to see some of my former work mates that I hadn't seen in a long time to talk about Weird Paul, and the fond memories we had. We all wished we had gotten together under more pleasant circumstances.
As I was driving home, one of the songs on my Fountains of Wayne CD was playing and this bridge kept going over and over in my mind:
"He's got all kinds of time .... all kinds of time .... all kinds of time."
I got to thinking about the times I thought about calling Paul just to say hi, and how I never followed through. Now it's too late. I guess what struck me the most is how short time really is ... we don't know when the "last" time you'll get to speak a kind word to someone is. I think life is too short to not take the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life ... even if it's just a genuine smile or a kind word or a call just to say, "I was thinking about you."
Life's short ... love hard.
DG
Comments (6)
That last line says it all.
I'm sorry about the loss of your friend. That's hard. Especially the suicide aspect of it.
Hugs.
A funerals there are always people saying how great the deceased was but I'm sure the deceased would rather have heard it while they were still alive... and in some cases maybe if they had heard it more they would still be alive. So sad.
It keeps bringing it back to us that we never know when its going to end - live each day, each minute each second as if it might be your last. Have fun!!
Dusk
Love hard. That has a lot of different meanings ... and I like them all!
Keep the faith, Dan!
God help us, we're reaching that age where our friends are going to start disappearing on us. I've lost a few myself, and you're absolutely right.
Dan, you're one of my oldest and dearest friends. Never forget that.
Dan, I'm with Jerry. Old friends to the end, and God willing, for a long, long time to come.
Love Hard. Wow.
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