While writing this novel, a great tragedy happened. A good friend of mine, Glen Goudie, passed away, apparently from two aneurysms and a stroke. He was only in his early fifties. Glen and I worked together for years as IT consultants on government contracts, both of us Project Leaders on sister projects at one point. We became friends, and after I left, maintained casual contact including the occasional lunch.
A few weeks before this writing, I had thought I should call him to do lunch. It had been years, and becoming lost in the solitary life of a writer is a trap too easily fallen into. I was too busy at the time, and in a lot of pain, so said the typical thing one says in these cases: I’ll call him later.
I rarely use Facebook beyond communicating with my readers. I find it a major time-suck, filled with drivel. Yes, there are lots of funny things there, and interesting things about friends and family, but I just don’t have the time for that. A couple of weeks ago, I did have some spare time one evening, and clicked that little F.
And found out my friend had died the night before.
It hit me a little harder than I had expected, since I hadn’t seen him in so long. I think it was because we were similar in age, had similar careers until I became a writer, and he even started dating a Filipina after his divorce. It made me think that his fate could be mine. It also made me think about how we so often think there’s plenty of time left to do something, to see someone, to try some new thing.
And then suddenly, in the blink of an eye, there isn’t.
Dying with regrets I think is unavoidable, but when one of those regrets could have been avoided by just picking up a phone, or blocking off an hour for lunch, that is sad. There might be reasons. In my situation, I’ve had many health issues over the past decade that have caused me to lose touch with a lot of my friends, and what makes it worse, is that many have no idea why.
When I reached out to some friends to find out exactly what had happened to Glen, I discovered email addresses no longer worked, and realized just how out of touch I was. Thankfully, one still did, and he responded with what I needed to know, and warmed my heart by suggesting he and another friend from my past come and visit me at my home, since I couldn’t come to them.
It’s easy to forget how isolated some people can become through no fault of their own. So, if you have an old friend or family member you haven’t heard from in a while, perhaps there’s a reason, and a simple phone call, email, or visit, might brighten their day.
I know it always brightens mine.
As usual, there are people to thank. My dad for all the research, Ian Kennedy for some explosives info, Brent Richards for some weapons info, and, as usual, my wife, daughter, and mother, as well as the proofing and launch teams.
To those who have not already done so, please visit my website at www.jrobertkennedy.com then sign up for the Insider’s Club to be notified of new book releases. Your email address will never be shared or sold, and you’ll only receive the occasional email from me, as I don’t have time to spam you!
Thank you once again for reading.