My heart is broken.
Cal, my longtime friend, my BEST friend from Jr. High and High School has died.
Being a nerd in the 80's and 90's was rough. We were paving the way to a new frontier. We showed the world that the things we liked were indeed cool. But for a lonely nerd, it was good having someone like him around to talk to.
He drove me to our high school graduation rehearsal which he played a band that he recently discovered.
"Who is this?" I asked.
"They Might Be Giants"
"Who Might Who Be What?"
I ended up liking their upbeat attitude. It was like Weird Al but without the parody.
Throughout our 20's we enjoyed many nerdy things like gaming, anime, and other movies and shows. We watched the series finale of Star Trek The Next Generation together.
He faced some challenges in which I was very impressed how he handled them. There was no way I could have faced them with the same strength.
Sadly we grew a little distant together in later years. He got married and circumstances lead him to being a single father. Again, a challenge to which he showed great strength.
He went to my father's funeral, to which he told me "I hope to be half the father your dad was." Well he was a great father, a great friend, a great human being.
I admired his intelligence, his independence, his devotion to friends and family.
I love you, Cal. And I'll miss you.
