No Day But Today...

If I've learned anything in this life, it is that there is "No Day But Today," which is from the musical RENT by the late Jonathan Larson, who died at the age of 35 three weeks before my father. 1996 was a very bad year. A year of death. A year of endless tears. A year without laughter, without light.

By the end of 1996, right after my friend Danny's funeral in mid-December, I had been to the funerals of 10 close friends and family members -- all of them young with so much more life in them. Ten deaths in one year was more than I could bear. It left me on very unstable ground. I wasn't sure that life was safe. I was certain that death loomed around every corner. But as the years passed, even with a few more devastating deaths and funerals, I learned to live again. And I started celebrating life again and stopped being afraid.

Now, I fully grasp and I truly understand how sacred life is, how precious it is, and how it can end in an instant. So I always remember to live life like there is No Day But Today!

A few months ago, I wanted to plan something special for the 10 year anniversary of my father's death. But the days turned into weeks, then months, then Christmas came, then New Year's Day and before I knew it, Valentine's Day was here and it was too late to plan a trip to San Jose to celebrate my dad.

However, earlier this week, I got the idea to create this one-time use site as a small way to remember a life lived. To remember all the people who knew and loved my dad. And to remember the great times I spent with my dad.

But first, I have to share how the idea of posting this site came to me.

Last week, I was at the DEMO conference, the premier launchpad for new technology, and at the very end of the conference as I was about to leave when I met an amazing woman by the name of Sachi Gahan. I was actually just saying goodbye to my client when he introduced me to Sachi, we exchanged a few words and business cards. And I added her card to the stack of other business cards that I had gathered at the conference, and I headed home.

Then on Monday night, I decided to check out Sachi's blog expecting to read some interesting and amusing thoughts, ideas and opinions, but what I saw first was the title of her Monday post, which read "Worst Day of My Life" and then I read the devasting and tragic news.

Her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident on Sunday, February 12, 2006. I had just met Sachi days before, and I don't even know her, but I know her pain and loss. And my heart just aches for her.

But then I read all the comments left by others, and it was so touching and moving, and that's when I decided to write this one-time blog in honor and in memory of my father, who died at the age of 55. He was born at 11:20 a.m. on November 10, 1940 in Oak Park, Illinois, and died sometime between 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 17, 1996 in Santa Clara, CA.

The below posts are snippets of thoughts, remembrances and other musings, and I hope you take a minute or two to read this "blog" and just remember my dad. Remember his good heart, good humor, friendly smile, and how he would give you the shirt of his back if you needed it. It's just too bad that he gave, and gave, and gave, and forgot to keep a little for himself. If he just kept a little for himself, I think he'd still be with us today.

Thanks for caring enough to stop by. And if you feel compelled to post a comment, I would certainly welcome it. And if you're reading this and didn't know my dad, I hope you get a sense of who he was, and then the next time you see your dad, give him a big hug and tell him you love him. Cherish every moment, because you never know when it's the last.

NOTE: For those of you who do not know how my dad died, he committed suicide. For more information on suicide visit: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention