In Conversation with Dave

Dave, you never met a conversation you didn't like! You could talk about most any subject but I always felt that your favorite conversations were those in which you knew you were helping someone.You were so dedicated to your friends and inspired by your family. You lived with the wind at your back as I know you always believed that you would depart early. And so on a day that began like any other, a huge gust of wind came into the calm--a wind too strong for anyone to battle, and took you with it. Your heart might have been weak in that moment but it was one of the biggest hearts I have known.

I felt so sad that I couldn't say goodbye, but then I realized along the way, that you have lived your life as one big goodbye. You know what I mean by that! You lived exactly how you wanted to, you lived large and you gave everything you had. Any one moment of your life could have been the last and you would have been satisfied with how you lived. To me, you said goodbye each time you shared yourself with me. You had the ability to know what you needed but you also had the vision to see beyond what you needed over to what you desired. That is what made your life so full.

You planted your stakes firmly in the ground, you made waves in the sea and you flew high in the sky --you wanted it all! Your last ride was Friday. You were on the ground looking at the sea and enjoying the clear blue sky with your lovely Shari. It was perfect. If we could all orchestrate our lives so majestically!

Well, I have to tell you that I am not ready to end my conversation with you. I just can't. And something tells me that I don't have to. I hear you talking in my head and I know that everyone of your loved ones can hear you too. There are those voices that just don't disappear. You, my dearest Dave, are someone who will never disappear. Thank you for the thousands of conversations we've had over 34 years and for indulging me in the ones that we will continue to have for years to come. I love you.