Dear J:

Dear J:

You were my favorite of all his friends and I made sure to tell you when you had grown to be a man.

You had embedded manners that others lacked – even in your teenage years – and showed more than just mere respect toward us.

You had that sweetness underlying that daily living never managed to destroy.

You held your son as only a dad could do and wore that pride for us to see.

You cheated death before…

WHY THE hell DID IT FIND YOU NOW?

P.S. Just so you know, if you’re looking down or over shoulders or from wherever you might have planned to be: It may have won that battle, but it lost in one big way, for you are burrowed into many hearts, including mine… and death can’t reach that which is tucked within us, so you are here to stay.

M