A good friend of mine died today. His friendship was of a rare kind, built from scratch in full adulthood, without benefit of youthful energy or shared childhood history or common locality, built even without having met face-to-face. And yet it was a solid friendship, having outlived the length of time it takes to tell all our most interesting stories.
We met online through some forum or other, finding that we shared a few interests in common. And when we each moved on to other fora, we kept our communication going through e-mail and then daily interactive chat sessions, discussing the news of the day, sharing our triumphs and frustrations. I looked forward to meeting my friend in person one day, at last being able to attach a voice to the words we’d type back and forth.
My friend actually passed away a week ago. I didn’t find out until just this morning. The week-long silence in our conversation is no longer a mystery, and the least-expected explanation for that silence has been instantiated. The loss of this friendship in cyberspace hurts as much as any friendship I have lost out here in the real world. Had I known about it in time, I would have traveled to his memorial service.
I guess we’ll just have to wait a little longer to meet up, my friend. TTYL, Curt.
Bret/ and my apologies if someone else- I am truly sorry for your loss. 2015 has been like no OTHER year I’ve ever remembered for untimely deaths of both family and friends. Quickly nearing 50, it has mostly made me realize, acknowledge, and (begin to) accept my very OWN immortality. Not cool, but per my 78 year old father, a “fact of
Life”. If so- life sux- lol. Very sorry for your loss
Go NOLES!