I just need to get this off my chest 'fore I end up locking myself in the bathroom and crying. A coupla days ago, I made a mention of this, but I figured I should go in a bit more detail.

A year ago, a very close friend of mine, Gary Martin, died tragically. I had known him for several years, most of it, however, online. He was funny, caring, and seriously the damn most courageous guy I had ever known. I idolized him and I loved him more than anything in the world.

One day, I'm told that he was in the hospital. In a coma. I dropped everything and travelled to Texas, spending two weeks at his side, urging him and pleading for him to wake up. He would respond to my voice, 'cause he was still there. Though, I hadta go back to Pennsylvania. Four days later, they took him off of life support and he passed away. He was 27.

In October, I made another trip to Texas to attend his memorial service. There, I said my good-byes and came back to Pennsylvania. Later, the site team that Gary started disbanded as we couldn't keep the site going. It just didn't feel right. Then many of us left that community. Leaving it behind and moving on seemed to be the only way I and a few others could actually heal after that.

Yoda tells us that when someone dies, they're not truly gone. And I hold onto that belief. Though the pain that you feel inside really puts that on the sidelines.

Gary, if you're out there some where and happen to stumble across this on some astral plane... I miss you and love you. And I'll never forget you. May the Force be with you, Gary.

Gary Martin
September 17th, 1979 - September 27th, 2006