September 7th 2001 at around noon time, I was out in World Trade Center Plaza having two pretty good street dogs for lunch, listening to the cheeezie plaza musac, and talking about attending an upcoming IT seminar with my best friend/best man Chris.

Chris and I both did international consulting for a variety of clients.. Chris was on with Avenir, doing some work for them over the last year or so out of New York City.

Not to add drama where there wasn't any.. I really enjoyed this lunch, and REALLY enjoyed my garbage hot dogs, even more so than usual. This was the first time I'd seen Chris in 4 or 5 months being he's there and I'm from one side of North America to the other on a given week.. It was odd, seeing as we spent almost every day together from Kindergarten to High School graduation.

I left Chris that day with my notebook computer (Panasonic Toughbook) a hand shake/hug and the promise we would have Christmas together this year in Manhattan.

Little did I know this would be the last time I would see my friend. The last time we would have lunch and laugh at all the things that life long friends laugh about.

About a week and a half later I could be found in a line surrounding an Amourie. A place where the city people had setup to gather personal items from missing people. I took a hair brush, tooth brush and a left over personal X-Ray Chris had at his flat when he broke his collar bone during a ski trip we had taken in Austria.

I can't tell you all of the emotions and thoughts that went through my head that day... Standing with his wife/my friend, in a line to hand over things like this to people I didn't know.. All in the hopes of maybe getting a.... What, small piece of my friend back?

I did however get one thing back.. The top cover of my Panasonic Toughbook with my business card inlayed with plastic. I know Chris would have hung on to this for dear life even when things looked really bad. The thought of him clutching this until death is almost too much to think about.

In the years since this event. Chris's wife(also named Chris, short for Christine) has committed suicide by hanging herself... So despondent with the loss of her life partner. She just couldn't go on. I carried her to the grave 17 months ago too.

It's a very strange world we live in...

As I watch the events of the last 2 weeks unfold, I can't even begin to tell you all the emotions you go through, not only this time of year.. But now seeing more people die and suffering.

So the reason for posting this sad story is this...

If you have people in your life you love and cherish. Tell them, tell them everyday and show them in all the ways you can just how much they mean to you. Do it whilst you can, you never know when those days will just disappear, just the way my friends Chris did.

 

What a sad story about your friend and his wife... Thanks for telling it at what must be a bittersweet time for you.

EDIT: Moved my further comments to a separate thread.

 

All I can say is thanks for sharing your story.

 

Amen.

...it is indeed a "strange world" that we inhabit.

Thanks for sharing.

 

My mother has a saying that she is very fond of

"Man plans and God laughs"

Never, ever take anything for granted. You never know what tomorrow brings.

Thanks for sharing your story.