Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - 5:41 PM PDT

I lost my Dad almost 6 years ago. My worst day of the year is April 24th. I know you never ever stop hurting. Our lives have changed forever. Thinking of you.
P.S. He definitely reminds me of DeNiro!!!

Sunday, May 7, 2006 - 12:06 AM PDT

I know I'm like 6 years late on this reply(post) I really can't express how i feel or try to put into words how you felt/feel. But, just and fyi, 6 years ago, and 6 years later, need anything, just let me know ^^ Cause I'm Bee-Ram(Byram) and thats how we roll.

I'll improvise a poem i suppose now...

Smile... cheer
life is dear

It may take us up
and it can bring us down

But just remember
your friends are around

even though we come and go
true friends will always be near

either, new or old
doesnt matter how bad your down

Just remember that we stand firm
like a rock holding the ground

when ever you need us we'll be around

so cheer up kiddo
you can be sad

its ok to cry
but just be glad

that you have friends
that will be there

even if you fall
just know we're by your side

and we wont make fun of you for being small =)

just dont give up hope
keep the faith

that some day
everything will be great

just give it time
watch and see

that your friends are right here
friends like me ^^

Sunday, January 13, 2008 - 3:20 AM PST

I went to high school with Benny.  I did a Google search on him because something I'd just read online in the Los Angeles Times (mention of someone with a similar surname) reminded me of him, and that I recall being told a few years ago that he'd died.

It's also kind of startling to learn that Benny was all of two days older than I.  Though I never liked high school, I do sometimes think back to those days when I, and all those around me were young, and the world was filled with endless possibilities.  Of course, as it is with many people, some of those your age begin to die while you're still in school, or shortly thereafter (as was the case with P.H.S. Class of '72).

It's probably more dispiriting to learn of one's contemporaries who fall as a result of natural causes.   I look in the mirror every morning and see a face not terribly dissimilar to the one caught in the looking glass thirty-six years ago, so I've not quite yet begun to wonder where all the years went.  I hope that was the case with Benny, too.

I'm glad to know that there are those who lament his absence.  We were never much more than classmates who gruntingly acknowledged each other's approach in the hallways, but all our experences contribute to our being whatever it is we are from moment to moment.

Here's to Benny!