I miss him already.

So, here it is the first ever post on my blog ... 30 minutes ago i was not sure what a blog was and now i have one. So if you have a blog in the woods and no one reads it ...?
Last night my friend passed away, we worked together, we work long days, we work long weeks, we work a lot ... it is hot, the deadlines are many and forever tightening, Murphy's law is tested and proven every day. We attempt to fix between 40 and 60 cars every day, in the process we try to make people happy by meeting their time related expectations, we pray that nothing goes wrong, that the parts come, that they come on time, that the right part is in the box, that the bolts that were put on your car 11 years ago in a factory do not break upon removal, that we correctly diagnosed your problem ... one or all of these little beauties hiccup in our face every day. So every day, for 11 hours a day we face these challenges together, it bonds us.
He was special though, every one talked to him everyday, he was good at his job and he had the uncommon ability to listen and not judge. Everyone shared their hearts with him, you knew he would listen and never repeat what you said. He loved his wife, he loved his children, he served his country in the Navy, he knew who he was and where he came from.
He's gone. He is gone and all we are left with is the blue two story tool box with the blue side cabnet ... it is covered with stickers; a Boston Red Sox magnet, a #3 Dale Earnheart memorial magnet, a 2004 Red Sox season calander, Edelbrock, MAC Tools, Snap On Tools, Laconia, NH Motorcycle week, A/C Delco, "Beware of Owner", something about chrome, a New England Patriots championship bumper sticker, Jasper Engines and Transmissions, Nitro ... there is a tool cart fulley stocked for a day at work today, there is a radio, and a Boston Red Sox coffee mug ... looking at these things today i miss him and it occus to me that all of these things do not in anyway represent who he was. He was my friend and we all loved him.