tommy...

it was a long time ago...it seems i'm not as good at counting the years...counting the passing time ...as i used to be...
but...
it's been at least 12 years...
when i first started working with richard and leslie...
richard had this friend he called tommy...
for almost everyone else...
he went by tom...but to richard and leslie..
he was tommy...

as close as i could tell...
tommy was richards closest friend outside of famliy...
as you get older..
as you get to know more and more people...
it's hard to say..
"he's one of a kind"...
but upon meeting tommy ...he was clearly one of a kind..
he called everyone "brother"...
and you really got the feeling...
he always meant it...

as much as tommy was an intersting person..
he was also an intersting business person...
tommy owned two companies..
one was an office products company..
and the other was an "ink" company...
tommy's office products company never did seem to do a lot of business..
he never really talked about his "ink" company..
i remember ...
whenever i saw tommy...
i'd ask him how business was going..
he'd tell me..
"not so good"...
as far as i could see...
it didn't seem he sold a lot of office supplies..
as i said....he never talked about his "ink" company..
the perplexing thing about his business was..
i would go to his office..
it was a nice office..
it didn't show any signs of being in tough economic times..
finally after a few years...
i asked richard about tommy's business's...
richard told me...here's what i know...
tommy's office products company isn't where he makes his money..
it's his "ink" company....
the one he never talks about..
richard told me...
as tommy put it..."years ago"...he had this friend..
this friend was a chemist..
this chemist friend...developed a special "ink"..
the friend...didn't know anything about business..
he went to tommy and asked him to help him..
tommy agreed and they became partners...
the thing about this special "ink"...
was...
there was no "ink" quite like it on the market..
it's specific purpose..was for printing on drink cans...
so tommy set out to market the "ink"...
at some point in time...the two of them visited with "coors"...
as tommy told richard...
"they struck a deal"...
and to this day....it is the "ink"...coors uses to print their label..
on cans of coors products...

tommy very seldom talked about the "ink" company...
he used to tell everyone he just sold office supplies..
but in reality...his "ink" company...
made him a very comfortable living..
and..
tommy gave back..

tommy co-founded the "golf for a future" golf tournament..with proceeds to provide scholarships to students at west high in denver...
tommy was always serving on some board..
or with some organization..
working to make his community better..

last thursay..
richard called me in his office..
he told me after a short illness...
tommy had passed away..

i never knew how old tommy was..
it turned out..
he was 62...
i always thought he was much much younger
the way he lived his life..
the way he was always cheerful and welcoming...

anyway...
these last few weeks have been quite a struggle...
susans husband got very sick from his immune system being weakened from the chemotherapy...it was touch and go for a while...but he's getting stronger..
though he's still battling cancer...

susan's husbands struggles....
brings back a lot of memories...
for richard...
and...for the first time...
he came in to my office...
sat down..
and told me the story of the night and morning leslie passed away...
how he was by her side..
how their young son was with his mother..
as she passed away...

in the past few weeks...
things have been a little unsettled...
i've done a lot of listening...
i've done a lot of supporting and praying...
and well...
as near as i could ...
i've held things together at work...

so this week....
losing a friend..
reminds us..
how vunerable we all our..
how fragile life is..
how...
none of us will live on this earth forever...
and ...
how each moment we have while we're here...
is a chance..
to leave a mark..
to leave a memory...
to love..
to share..
to give..
to feel...
to laugh..
to cry..
to sing..
to dance..

and to most importantly...
thank God...


this afternoons music...
needle and thread....sleeping at last...

"when the world welcomes us in,
we’re closer to Heaven than we’ll ever know...
they say this place has changed,
but strip away all of the technology,
and you will see...
that we all are hunters,
hunting for something that will make us okay....

here we lay alone in hospital beds,
tracing life in our heads;
but all that is left,
is that this was our entrance and now it’s our exit,
as we find our way home....

all the blood and all the sweat,
that we invested to be loved...
follows us into our end,
where we begin to understand

that we are made of love,
and all the beauty stemming from it...
we are made of love,
and every fracture caused by the lack of it...

“you were a million years of work,”
said God and his angels, with needle and thread...
they kissed your head and said,
“you’re a good kid and you make us proud,
so just give your best and the rest will come,
and we’ll see you soon.”

all the blood and all the sweat,
that we invested to be loved,
follows us into our end,
where we begin to understand...

that maybe hollywood was right:
when the credits have rolled and the tears have dried,
the answers that we have been dying to find,
are all pieced together and, somehow,
made perfectly mine...

we are made of love,
and all the beauty stemming from it...
we are made of love,
and every fracture caused by the lack of love..."