He’s Not Here

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Today is the day I go to the funeral for my friend, Dave.

Yesterday was a sad day because after a site visit I had a quick passing thought that brought Dave to mind.

Thought about calling him…

…and a huge wave of sadness gripped me.

“He’s not here anymore,” I thought, and then my stupid mind took me through a Rolodex of construction guys who are no longer here anymore.

Budman, Kensey, Ed Rose, Mike Cam, Joe Black, Irsay…

…all really solid dudes.

They were guys who shared the trenches with me. We shared a whole bunch of laughs, told each other stories, watched our kids grow up.

The thing about it is that I also considered a lot of the jobs  that we battled through. Those places are built. Those guys were major participants in the completion of the job.

Left their mark, which is all fine and dandy…

…but they aren’t here!

I’ve always believed that people stay alive in the hearts and minds of those they’ve left behind…

…so they’re ’kind of’ still here.

Yet, the down moment lingered all through the morning. 

Thankfully, a work buddy called me to see if I was around downtown for lunch.

We only spent about 40 minutes over grilled cheese and tomato soup.

We spoke only of work. Some tragic stories of loss in and around the working world. 

After lunch I bumped into another work buddy who asked about Dave. 

I shared a story.

“We were heading through the front gate at Cornell University to set up a steel erection job. Dave turned to me and said, ‘Ain’t this a school where, like, really smart kids go?’”

I laughed at the memory.

“Put it this way,” I said. “Only way you’re ever getting in here is with a hard hat on your head.”

My buddy laughed.

“Know what Dave said?” I asked. 

He shrugged.

“He said, ‘I’m a lot happier wearing a hard hat than dealing with all that high expectation bullshit.”

Exactly.

I miss a whole bunch of my work buddies.

They’re not here????

Yeah.

They are.

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