My Friend Paul lost his cancer battle last Thursday. We chatted last weekend after the doctors told him that treatments did not work and time was short. We talked about our friendship and how it developed when our company transferred me to Columbia Mo back in 2011. I arrived in Columbia in January and my family could not join me to school was over in June.
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Paul and I worked together at the IBM site and very quickly we found that our minds, attitudes and views were in close alignment. Paul lived close to Kansas city but rented a Condo in Columbia. Within a few days of meeting he offered to share the place with me. He was the most physically fit person I ever knew. Ran, Biked and swam with amazing skill. We would return to the Condo after work each day. He would then go run his 5 miles or bike 20 and I would sit on the sofa and do my best Jabba the Hutt. After a short period of time I decided to buy a bike and get my fat butt off the couch.
The look on his face when my Schwin bike arrived was priceless. Not exactly the class of bike he would have advised but it started my biking. We went biking together after that and he passed advice as we rode. The first day he took me up some gentle hills and I struggled a bit, but all of a sudden I felt this hand on my back as he pushed me up the hill... this was truly amazing to me. This was the start of many rides and many chat.
At work we sat next to each other, and each day was full of work and full of chat. We shared our thoughts on all subjects. We laughed at the same things and our minds were aligned in most subject. Even when I lived in India for a year, we always had our daily chats. The years past and our bond became even stronger.
We went on many bike rides, and he did his best to slow down to my speed. Most of the time we rode at the same pace and chatted, but sometimes he just needed to kick it up a few notches. He would say he is going ahead and would meet me at the end of the Trail.
On our last chat we revisited our various adventures. As they came out of us, we relived each story. I wanted each story to never end, I wanted time not to pass, to keep us in our memories. Eventually he told me that he was not scared and knew his time was short. He told me that our friendship was one of the highlights of his life and he wanted me to know he loved me as a friend. Normally this would have led us to a joking period, but this was not the time. We both knew this was probably our last time to talk. I told him I loved him and how important he has been to me. He needed to rest and we talked about chatting when he was transferred to Hospice, but he was never lucid again.
On Thursday at 4:30pm his life's' journey ended, and he left us. along with part of my soul. As with some of our bike rides, Paul could not stay with me and went down the trail ahead of me. My life's' trail is unsure, and I continue to pedal as slowly as I can to the end, but I know that I will feel Paul's hand on my back at times to help me through the hard times. Eventually my trail will end also, and just like our bike rides, Paul will be waiting for me at the end.
