A kid I graduated with in 2001 died this past weekend. I was at a packed funeral home Thursday night to pay my respects to Matt Stock. I wasn't particularly close to him outside of school, but I had a bunch of classes with him and sat at his lunch table in 11th and 12th grade. I can't think of a bad thing to say about this guy. He was near the top of our class and one of the most intelligent people I knew, and the kid never had a negative thing to say about anybody or anything. Totally straight laced witha great head on his shoulders. Matt had a lot to offer this world and had a very bright future ahead of him.

I don't know all the details, but I know that he was either out playing soccer or hockey with friends. He came home and complained about some chest pains, and then he just collapsed. Massive heart attack...at 25-years-old. It didn't really hit me until I saw him at the funeral home, the avid hockey fan layed out in his Sidney Crosby jersey. Why did this kid or his family deserve this?

Life's so disillusioning at times, and with shining stars like the Matt's of the world facing such a grim demise, it really makes me think about things. There's no reason for it...fate is bull****. There is no justification for such a great dude who was a credit to this world to be reduced to 2 lines in the obituary section of the newspaper atthe quarter century mark of his life.

I don't know, I guess it really just makes me think about how short and precious life is, and I question if I'm living to my full potential. An epiphany occured to me thinking about all of this. Family andfriends are the key to life. It's the only true way to make your mark and to live on. All of the things you do and all of the lessons you learn and all of the stories you create along the way mean nothing without people to share that with. To the rest of the world, Matt was nobody, but everybody in that packed room was touched and changed by Matt, and that makes him immortal.

So please, everybody, cherish the people in your life. Every single day. Open yourself up and share your story. Get out there and live and let the people you love know how much you appreciate them. Don't be 2 lines in the paper...be an entire chapter of somebody else's life.

Rest in peace Matt

 

[sm=smiley32.gif] Well said shoortbuss.


I know exactly what you mean....I'm 27 and my wife and I lost our first son a little over a year ago shortly after he was born. It seems life is never easy all the time for anyone. Pain is just part of life for humans. It's part of what makes life what it is. It helps us to appreciate the good times when we have them.

Pain helps you see the world clearer. I didn't realize how important friends and family were until my wife and I were the ones in the hospital. Everything else just kinda fades away at that point and you discover who your friends are.

Can't say it any better than this.......especially with our hobby, you never know when you might eat it.

 

I agree Claire, Juliet is wise.

I've really been struggling with the issue of faith lately. With so many different beliefs out there it's so hard to know what the truth is, especially when each faith believes that the other is wrong coupled with the idea that the consequencesof not believing in each religion is not appealing to say the least. It all really scares me to the point that I want to just cry at times because it's impossible to know the truth.

I think of how many lives have been lost in the world simply because one group of people has different beliefs from the other...and how this still happens every single day. And the scare tactics...the biggest joke of the world is using fear to inspire love. I'm just fighting a battle in my head wrestling with all of the concepts and trying to reach my own conclusions, but I'm fighting a battle that can't bewon and it's really taking a toll on my mental health.

 

wow, great words, shortbuss.

 

Well... shoortbuss, don't try to find answers, just live free and happy, and don't pass by when you see an injustice...Just my 2cents.

 

You're never truly gone until the last person who knew you has gone, too.....we always live on in the minds of others, but I've always loved the words of Maria Christina Rosetti who said
"Better you should forget, and smile
Than you should remember and be sad"

Celebrate my life, do not mourn my passing.