[jfollo]

John was like a father to me. He was also a very dear friend. We shared 15 years of grand friendship. John had been diagnosed about two tears ago with renal cell carcinoma. It was a very aggressive enemy and spread rapidly. I lost him a bit more than a year ago. I think about him often and miss being able to talk to him. He did not want anyone visiting or pitying him toward the end. Still, I knew that I had to see my friend one last time. I made up a BS story about needing to be in the area and jumped on a plane (his wife knew about my charade and welcomed it).