bojon is a celebration of life. it's a call to arms to embrace this world, to find your calling, and to pursue it with the utmost passion. the focus is on the positive, the stories that inspire, the good times that make you smile, and the relationships that bring fulfillment.
and one of the key underpinnings of this approach is the recognition that life is fleeting, and so you better get it while you can. make the most of every day because you never know when you're going to get tapped on the shoulder and told that the ride is over.
our circle of friends got a harsh lesson on just how ephemeral life can be a few years back when our good pal, mike duffy, was killed in an avalanche while backcountry skiing.
and now, sadly, we have just gotten another reminder of how quickly life can turn...
this past weekend, another very close compadre, jerry tuttle, passed away after abruptly coming down with a bacterial infection that rapidly overtook his system.
there's so much irony and tragedy in this development that it feels surreal. you see, mike duffy and jerry tuttle were best friends. college buds who rode the ups and the downs of life together like cosmic banditos will.
and when mike died suddenly, jerry was there to give the eulogy and to serve as the backbone for all of us who were so crushed by duffy's departure. jerry carried forward duffy's good natured spirit in a way so tangible that you could almost feel duffy's presence when jerry was around.
in fact, a big group of friends just gathered this past friday to honor duff near the third anniversary of his death. and there was jerry tuttle in the center of it all, relaying stories, sharing laughter, and keeping memories of duffy alive and well.
nobody could have guessed that jerry's time would be up the very next day.
my heart goes out to jerry's family and friends and especially to jerry's wife, steph, and their two young daughters. i know jerry's character will live on in them, and i truly hope that his spirit will give them the strength to somehow get through this.
jerry was a good man, a loyal friend, a strong leader, and a devoted family guy. if the chips were down, this is the amigo you wanted by your side. we'd all do well to heed the example he set. and to see him go down while at the top of his game is just such a devastating blow.
as a bunch of friends gathered sunday trying to make some sense of it all, there was only one thought that brought us any consolation: the idea of these two hooligans reunited in some other-world tavern, keeping each other company as they now watch over the rest of us. my oh my, fellas, may it be so...
