The First Entry

Ok so this is my first blog entry and I'm not exactly sure what to do, what to post or how to even get started.  So why do it?  Good Question.  Do I have the answer?  Well, I'm not really sure.  So what prompted me to start a blog?  Well a good friend of mine just recently passed away far before his time.  He was one of those guys that everyone liked, everyone respected, everyone looked up to, and he was taken from all of us far too soon.  At the risk of sounding like I'm being disrespectful waiting in line during his visitation was like waiting in line at Disney Land. The line of people just never seemed to end as it wrapped half way around the building.  Steve knew everyone and everyone was proud to know Steve!

So I still haven't answered the question of why I'm writing a blog.  I'm honestly not sure I know the answer yet either.  Steve's Wife Melissa has a blog of her own and I think reading her blog entries inspired me to do my own.  You see Steve and Melissa met in College and we were all friends but as life would have it after college we each had families, jobs, events with the kids etc. and our paths didn't cross that often but each time they did, often at the local sandwich shop, it was as if we had seen each other just the day before even though several months and sometimes years had passed.  Each time we saw each other it was always with the promise of, "Hey we need to get together and see each other more often."  You all know what I mean, it happens to all of us more often than not.  Even with the best of intentions to get together that opportunity never seemed to come about.  Well, just a couple weeks ago it happened again, we ran into Steve and Melissa at Planet Sub and despite the fact that we hadn't seen each other in what was likely better than a year you would have thought we had seen each other just the day before.  That's just the kind of people Steve and Melissa are.  Melissa said my name from across the room and as I looked up there she was with a big smile on her face and a hug to say hello.  Little did I know that it would be the last time I would see Steve...

Tragically just a few short days later he was gone.  He fell victim to an accident while helping a neighbor, and just like that he was gone.  It was said at his "Celebration of Life" ceremony that Steve had done more in his first 40 years than most of us will do in a lifetime and judging by the line of people who came to pay their respects it's safe to say that he touched and impacted the lives of many in his short time here with us as well.  Estimates say close to 1,000 people, if not more, came to the visitation that evening.

Perhaps that's why I'm writing this blog entry, partially to grieve and remember fondly a wonderful person and good friend, and partially to continue carrying on and living life only this time doing so more like Steve would have.  For those of you who knew him you know what I mean.  He was one of those once in a lifetime, one of a kind individuals.  Family came first above all else.  Steve always put family first and his family went beyond just his Wife and three children.  Steve treated everyone like family and he always had a smile on his face and a kind word to say.  If we could all be a little more like Steve the world would be a better place.

So that might be a long answer but I think that's why I chose to write a blog.  Steve wasn't famous, he wasn't a celebrity, he wasn't rich, he was a normal every day kind of guy who happened to have 1,000+ people show up to pay their respects when his time came.  That says a great deal about the type of person he was.  Something really affected me in this past week and I didn't fully realize it until I read Melissa's blog.  Life is short, things happen when you least expect them to, take the time, make a difference, spend time with family, take lots of pictures.  Cherish life and all is has to offer.....