Rant #2,216: Goodbye

Yesterday was a very difficult day at work.

Yes, as you know, I worked on Labor Day, which was difficult enough.

But about 30 minutes into the day, we were hit with a bombshell.

I put this up on Facebook yesterday afternoon, and it pretty much explains it all.

"For the second time in a span of months, one of my co-workers has passed away.

The first was a suicide, this latest one was as a result of what we have been told was a massive heart attack that befell the person when he was bicycle riding over the weekend.

The two people died during the prime of life, relatively young and still vital.

This latest death is a shock to me because yes, I am at work today on Labor Day, and we found out after 9 a.m. early this morning from the man’s wife, who somehow had the strength to contact the office this morning, a morning where there are only a few of us actually working.

I was very close with this person; he was the managing editor of the publication I do most of my work on, I was the associate editor of that publication, so we pretty much worked hand in hand, and have been doing so for the dozen or more years he was employed here.

Like with the suicide, this casts a pall on my employer, a company which is already supposedly on its death bed.

I was distraught when I heard the news. I have calmed down a bit now, but I simply am torn to shreds by his death. We didn’t always get along, but I respected him and I think he respected me.

I simply do not know what else to say right now."

And to be honest about it, I still don't.

When I heard the news, I have to tell you that I became distraught. I was holding my head in my hands, I was saying, "No," and I was shaking like a leaf.

It took me about an hour or so to calm down. I decided to splash my face with water, which helped matters tremendously.

And I went back to work, because that is what I had to do.

We have no idea about a wake or funeral at this point, and I am sure that we will hear about something today or later this week.

I am still shocked. 

From what I could hear during the day, the guy was under a tremendous amount of pressure on a number of levels, and his weekends were dedicated to his family and doing what he loved best, which was anything happening in the outdoors.

He was an avid swimmer, surfer, and bike rider, so he died doing what he loved to do.

To me, this is another omen of doom for this company. 

There is a dark cloud over us that simply won't quit.

Not only have we lost current workers during the past year or so, we have also lost some former employees; one that I know of died in a traffic death not too far away from where I live.

Right now, I still am tongue-tied about this latest situation.

I have told you all that I know, and I really don't have anything else to say.

I just hope his family is doing as good as possible during this horrible time for them.

Life is short; live it to the fullest when you can.

There is nothing more to say.