On Friday, October 30, 2009, an old friend of ours died at the local hospital. Years of difficult breathing and other health problems finally took their toll and his heart gave up the battle. He was there for a problem other than heart, and his death was a horrid and sudden surprise to us all even though he was not a healthy person. We are saddened by his passing.

But sadness isn't the only emotion here. I had not seen him for several years, but this unexpected event has brought back memories I forgot I had. There are no bad ones. Only the laughter and foolishness has survived. The dumb things we did and managed to live and laugh through, the every day occurrences and the special events we all enjoyed - that's what I can remember now.

This sadness for today and happy remembrance of the past is a curious combination. One minute we laugh about some goofy incident and the next there is a silence occupied only by pensive thoughts. I guess it's all part of the grieving process. The mind doesn't want to accept such awful change so it searches for lightness to make the process easier. I have found myself laughing out loud about traits my friend had or things that we did, and at first there was a short pang of guilt afterwards. But not now. He would be laughing too were he still here, and as the days pass I am less likely to suppress a gutty chuckle when a quick memory flips by.

There will be a memorial service tomorrow at the church next door to his house. We will go and give our last respects, and there will be a gathering afterwards in the church basement. It will be the same curious combination, only magnified by the number of people there, and we will come away feeling better about the sad occasion which brought us all together.

My friend will never come back, but the memories will. And they're all good ones too.