putting things in perspective
This morning in my COS precept, I received an IM from a friend of mine letting me know that a friend of mine had passed away.
I’ve got to say that I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have little experience with death up until now. A couple months ago, an acquaintance of mine passed away, but today, this one really hit me hard.
I know LB from a board game that we both play, called go. When I first started playing, he was still a beginner too, and we pushed each other, competing and improving as we went along. We didn’t actually meet until we both went to this national convention called Go Congress, where the U.S. Open takes place. Over time, we made it to the top levels of the competition, but outside of it, we would hang out a lot. We even roomed together. It’s weird, that for one week of a year, he and a couple others became some of my closest friends. Without fail, every year that we see each other again, things pick up where they leave off.
Today, I found out that LB fell asleep at the wheel driving back from the airport after attending his brother’s wedding. The situation is horrific enough, but really, he was just so young. He had his whole life ahead of him. He was absurdly talented, one of the best go and chess players in the nation, and he was already in law school at the age of 19. He was younger than me, for christ’s sake.
I still can’t believe he’s gone. At times like this, I wonder why the world unfolds the way it does. Some believe that everything happens for a reason - but I just can’t see it here. Rest in peace, LB. You will be greatly missed…
