A Tribute to A Grade School Classmate

I have been retired for a year and a half. That event is a huge milestone, and one of the last ones in a typical lifetime. It has been wonderful indeed since I gave up my work wardrobe and shoes. But this week I was reminded that you really can never take anything for granted. One of my grade school classmates passed away very unexpectedly while hiking. All of the classmates received an email from another classmate who has organized class reunions, but was also the sister in law to our dear soul. So I looked around for the photos that Tom was in and found a few - our eighth grade class picture, a group of eight of us that did a dance for a school show, some eighth grade graduation celebration party get togethers, a few guys standing together at a high school party held at my house. I posted them on Facebook to remind folks about our past. I haven't seen Tom for many, many years. But I remember him as being a sweet guy who was liked by just about everyone. We've all gone our own way since then. But seeing those photos brings back a lot of great childhood memories. It was so nice knowing you Tom.