A Friend died yesterday at the age of 28. If it were up to me, no one would die so young. Late in the afternoon on Monday, he was exercising in a campus gym. Then, abruptly, his heart stopped. Paramedics were summoned, but he could not be revived. He had already died by the time his body reached the hospital. This was unknown to us at the time.
It was at his apartment that we met for our monthly Worship Group. We arrived yesterday evening as scheduled, only to find him strangely not there. This was very out of character for him, as he was the sort of person who would have let us know well beforehand about any potential scheduling conflicts. Many of us left voicemail messages, texts, and e-mails all of which curiously went unanswered, until recently.
Less than an hour ago, I received a reply from his mother to one such e-mail I left, deeply concerned. As he was a doctoral student and adjunct instructor, we first assumed he must have had other obligations. However, that sadly was not the case. He must have left his e-mail account always logged in or easy to access, and I'm glad he did. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known who to speak to regarding making plans for the Memorial Service. (The term "funeral" is not used by Quakers). There will be one Memorial Service at the school where he was a graduate student, and if the family wishes, another at the Meeting house.
For the time being, there are plans to make, and people to contact. That keeps my mind somewhat off of what has happened. But I know I'm grieving in my own way.
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