About a week into my stay at Sewanee I received word that a friend of mine had died. This isn't the kind of thing I would normally write about here on this blog, but I want to for a few reasons.
First, I had actually mentioned this friend by name on this blog back when he started a blog of his own. As the news of my friend's death spread, thanks to Google, more and more people came across my blog. Some of these people, complete strangers to me, took the time to email me to make sure I had received the news. And so I want to say thank you to those people.
Second, even though I had the chance to talk on the phone to people who know me and knew my friend, I still had a hard time coping with things at Sewanee, where I was surrounded by people I'd known only for a few days. Despite my not knowing these people well, a number of them took the time to provide me with some much needed comfort when they found out what I was dealing with. And so I want to say thank you to those people as well.
And third, I want quite simply to say that I'm going to miss my friend. And I want to wish his family and friends well.
Rest in peace, J.
