My Friend Is Gone, But Not Forgotten

News of my friend’s suicide on February 5, 2008 came in the form of an e-mail from a friend from high school that I reconnected with recently.

Jeff was my best friend in high school. We met as freshmen and instantly hit it off. I spoke of the times we shared in a blog I posted a few weeks ago concerning music. The last time we were together was about 8 years ago when we went and picked out some music together at a Lou’s Records in San Diego. The last time I spoke with him was about 6 years ago. He was going through a rough time in his life and I was dealing with my own life. We never spoke again after that for one reason or another.

Jeff was a good soul. It seems like I spent every waking moment of my life with him from our freshmen year though our sophomore year. We started drifting apart after that. It is not that we did not care for one another, it was simply that we had changed directions in our lives. We saw each other occassionally during the remaining years of high school.

Jeff battled with depression and insomnia throughout the years. The remarkable thing was that he always kept that beautiful smile on his face and that tremendous sense of humor.

I will miss you, my good friend. You taught me how to be myself and not worry about how others perceive you. I enjoyed the moments we shared together and know that you will always be right there next to me on this journey called life. I know you battled those demons and unfortunately those demons won. That does not mean that you lost by any means. I will continue on with the legacy of the 3-5 Operation in your name.