11:00 p.m. | 2002-08-21 Hey Now� Here�s a quip between a friend (F) and I today. (F:) I don�t watch Star Trek because I don�t like the way the people look. (Laughing. She�s Latino.) (CI:) Oh, so you�re prejudiced now? (Laughing.) (F:) Yeah! (Laughing harder.) Gotta love your Gemini friends� they keep you on your toes! *** Hope you got a laugh from that because the rest of this entry is sad. Fair warning and all. *** When I went to lunch today, I saw a man who looked exactly like a former co-worker of mine who died of cancer about 10 years ago. And in total disregard for proper manners, I blatantly stared at this man. I�m sure I looked like I was in complete shock, because frankly, I was. I don�t know what this man thought but I stared at him the whole time I was in the restaurant. Fortunately for both of us, I got my order to go. And I went, quickly. My former co-worker and I were �work friends� � close at work but didn�t do anything together outside of work. He was only 34 when he died. He was married to a wonderful woman, was the father of a beautiful daughter and worked up until his death. Even though he became so skinny his shoes fell off when he walked, his watch fell off when he put his arm down and his clothes literally hung on him. His cancer was in his throat area so, in the end, even at work, he could no longer talk. His boss used to ask me to come over and talk to him because they didn�t know what to say and I could always just prattle on with him. We knew each other well enough that he could convey what he wanted to say with his eyes or body language or a quick note. And, of course, I was always trying to cheer him up but it always seemed to hurt him when he�d laugh. It was hard. Right before he died, he took a 2-week vacation to go into the hospital. His birthday was within this time period. (He would have been 44 next month.) At work, we had someone go around videotaping everyone saying Happy Birthday. Most, if not all, departments decorated their area, had a cake for show and sent him birthday messages. We gave the tape to his wife to take to the hospital to show it to him. He never saw the tape because he was too sick and drugged up to view it. Several months later, when I was leaving that job and I went out to �farewell drinks� with a couple of people. His wife turned up in the mix. She told me that she had always wanted to meet me because he would always mention me. She told me that she had finally watched the tape and was overwhelmed by it. And, she thanked me for being there for him when a lot of people withdrew because they didn�t know what to do. I thanked her for the love and joy she brought him. He loved her and their daughter so much. If you remind me, some day I�ll tell you what made him so great and about all the fun we had. Oh, we cracked each other up all the time. But, for now, let this entry be in memory of him. your thoughts? seed flower