Friends

I have had the opportunity to spend time with many of my friends over the last month. Some of these friends I "inherited" from Andy, and I have come to love them dearly.Some did not "know" Andy but came to us through Andy. It is ironic that in losing Andy, I found so many other people to love.
I was lucky enough to travel to Chicago to run with a Marine, a cop, a Llama Chaser and a  girlfriend in the Chicago Half Marathon and 5k on 9/11. It was an amazing day with great people. We wore red shirts that had the "Wack Attack" logo on the front and the back said, "There is nothing to be unhappy about".

Andy was very good at describing his friends to me. In a letter from his first deployment, he described, with humor, every guy in his unit, their nicknames and how they got them. I also remember the anguish when one of them was shot, point blank, in the head as he was passing out aid packages.
I bring this up for a reason; life is short, too short for us not to appreciate those that have become dear to us and those that may. We cannot let the little things get in the way of reaching out. It does not matter who's turn it is to call, or who makes the next approach. It is insignificant who was able to make the party and who could not. All that really counts is that we continue to touch each other, care about each other and be there if we are needed. We need to put aside the "me" thoughts and think about the other guy.
Andy would call everyone that he had a phone number for just to say hi. He did not care if this person ever called him back as that is not what mattered to him. It was the gesture, the caring that mattered.
Denis, Pete, Nate and I often ask, "What would Andy do?".  It is almost always crystal clear: reach out, care and give all that you can.
Oh, if you need  to know what a Llama Chaser is, I recommend that you go to their web site and read all about them. They celebrate the true meaning of friendship and I love each and every one of them.
http://www.llamachasers.com/
Thanks for reading. I was kind of on a soap box this week.
"There is nothing to be unhappy about" - Ace Nowacki