On 17 July, I lost two mentors with whom I was very close.
On 23 July, I lost a really good Army buddy.
One of the mentors, John Robinson, I had been mentally prepared for to pass. He was suffering from a mild case of dementia and was recently attacked and robbed. The physical state he was in after the attack was the nail in the coffin…no pun intended. John was THE pillar of his community. He is irreplacable, and many of us are scrambling to find a way to fill the void that his passing has left. John was one of those old school civil rights leaders that you’ll never read about in the history books, yet all of the “famous” civil rights leaders know of extremely well. I had the pleasure of knowing and "working" with John the last four years of his life. I would visit him a few times a month and stay a couple of hours for each visit.
The other mentor, Dr Tom Sawner, I did not see coming. He’s only a year younger than my dad. Dr Sawner was the type of guy every young, ambitious person hopes to run into. The moment we met, he placed me under his wing. He was always candid and open with me and freely gave me advice, whether I wanted it or not.
As for my Army buddy, Pat Coyle, his loss hurts the most: not so much because he’s dead, but how he died: a massive heart attack while sleeping. I could accept if he had died on the battlefield, but lying in bed beside his wife? I still cannot wrap my head around it. Pat and I were in the world’s greatest unit together: the Mighty War Eagle Squadron: 1st Sqdn, 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment. Pat was the kind of guy who never took anything too serious, yet was always taken seriously. He was always good for a good laugh.
Last week was a little rough, as you can imagine. It didn’t hit me until today how much I am going to miss my three friends. I have already had two dreams about Pat: one about me running around telling soldiers and NCOs from our squadron about his passing and the other with me at his funeral service. Yesterday, I looked at John’s funeral service program, which sits on my passenger’s seat, and his picture just seemed to look different somehow. As for Dr Sawner, it doesn’t feel like he’s dead: as though, I could walk over to his office and find him their slaving away behind his desk as he always did. Unfortunately, I know that that is not the case.
The loss of my friends has further solidified my drive to see my goal through. John was like Moses. He worked tirelessly to help the community, yet shall not live to see the fruits of his labor. Dr Sawner was able to see the true realities of his dream of equal high education for all. Pat…I pray that his daughter is able to live some aspects of his dream, in that he was unable to enact any of his own.
I am going to miss my friends every day. I thank GOD for their friendship and the memories that we shared and for the new sense of drive and purpose with which their passing has in-fueled me.
