By Ken Krayeske • 5:35 PM EST
Hey India, my Nikon is down for the count, and I have an assignment tomorrow where I am taking a student to interview Howard Zinn in Boston, do you have a camera I can borrow? Sure, she said. And she handed me a medium format, which she showed me how to use. I love the resulting portrait from that short lesson, above.
Has it really been five years? I remember the immediate dissociation upon hearing the news: "No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no."
It's not something I ever imagined I would have to confront - we are immortal, right? Car accidents don't happen to my friends. No no no no. The agony seared, burned, hot iron on pale flesh.
The bonds connected then severed. No no no. I don't want to deal with it ever again. But I know death will knock at my door again, taking someone I love.
Time heals all wounds, but it can't close massive gaping holes left by the absence of a close confidant. One lesson I have learned: don't ever take a good bye for granted.
When I part company with friends, when I'm leaving a bar, a restaurant, or their house, when I'm leaving work, and I say, good-bye, I mean it. I recall what I can when we part ways, as if it were the last time I might see the person.
Because if the next time I see them is when they are laying in a casket, I don't want to have left anything undone.
So until next time, loyal readers, godspeed and arrive safely.
