As I write this at 1:15 on Easter, I sit staggered by recent events close to the heart and am bolstered only by my faith on this, the most significant of all Christian holidays.
I am saddened by the loss of Murph. I had come to know him through this list and had corresponded with him actively during his career change and always encouraged him to follow his heart and do something that would make him happy. It was my pleasure to finally meet him in person at Sowbug and find him to be the same exuberent guy in person that he was in writing. I regret that I never had the opportunity to take him up on his offers to fish his home waters. My prayers go out to his family and loved ones. Upon returning home an hour ago, I had a message from our son that we had received a call from my wife's close friend saying that her husband had died suddenly at the age of 47. Having spent this evening at a birthday party for my best friend, my cousin Randy, I had to remind my self of the many blessings I have in the family and friends I was spending the evening with. In my role as a financial advisor, I deal with death on a regular basis having worked through over 200 client deaths in the last 15 years. The only thing that sustains me is my faith and my ability to help the surviving families move forward. As we gather with our families today and celebrate the holiday, I want to think of Murph for all he meant to the community here, count the many blessings I have in friends and family and probably hug my adult kids a liitle harder than usual. For all of you folks that enrich this list and the handful that I call friends, I encourage you to join me in embracing what we have and what can have in our relationships with others. Eat life up with a big wooden spoon. -Jayhawk Jeff __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
