Goodbye Sandbot

In the beginning of 2009, I lose another friend.

I keep thinking, "He's gone. He's gone! How can this be, I was just talking to him a week ago!" It came out of nowhere. I think one of the reasons I find it hard to accept is that nobody really saw it coming, not so soon.

I can honestly say that Sandborn is a man of incredible talent, who would critique my work and give guidance whenever I needed it. He worked so hard and had a bright future ahead of him, it just isn't fair. But tragedy strikes without prejudice or mercy, to the best and worst of us. I wonder what I could have done to have prevented this. In the end, it does no good and he was his own person, made his own decisions.

I find myself remembering all the good times we spent together, all the mischief and mayhem we went through in school. The trips to comic-con, cramming into a small room with 5 other people in humid, hot weather. The Dale-fests at school, BBQ'ing and eating cupcakes. Oh, and the hilarious misunderstandings. At the very least, the short time Sandborn spent with us, he had a lot of fun times and really lived life. That seems, to me, the least anybody can ask for.

If there is an afterlife, I imagine Mike must be sitting up there drawing in a sketchbook (probably red heads). I look forward to seeing what he's drawn when, someday, my time comes as well.

So to everyone I know, take care of yourselves.


Rest in peace, my friend.