Ahhh Vacation/Houseboat/Family/Friends - BAM

BAM - your dead, as is another co-worker. This has been the second one in the last few months and it is very difficult. On a houseboat with family/friends, others carrying stuff out of the boat come back and someone is dead. Vacation ends. Life stands still. They are at work one day and they are gone the next. I still miss "R" who was the first victim - work just doesn't seem the same without him. There are many people my age at work, and most of them say today "we just gotta retire - life is too short."

It's kind of funny that many people asked how old he was. As I was wondering that myself, I thought that the passing of a friend, co-worker or family member makes us take a hard look at our own mortality. Face it folks, fat, skinny, health nut, exerciser, couch potato, smoker. . . it's going to hit each and every one of us somewhere, sometime. Inevitable.

We have another employee who is suffering from ALS disease. He is v/young, with small children. I think, do I want to suffer with a disease, or do I want to go quickly into the night on a houseboat surrounded by those I love most. I'll take the later.

Part of my job is to deal with the families of those employees that pass, and it is a very difficult thing to do. I go over surviving benefits and assist in whatever way I can. The sadness in their voices is very haunting, because you want to make it go away for them - but you can't. From experience I know that time does make it better, but it never goes away completely.

Today, I spoke with the daughter of the employee who died and expressed my condolences. The gentleman's wife was too distraught to talk. As I was talking to his daughter, she said through her tears "wasn't he so cool." He was. I'll miss you "B".