Goodbye Sally. You will be missed. RIP.

If you look up at the banner above, you see a set of eyes peering at you. The eyes are mine. I've been told, usually by mothers of prospective girlfriends, that my eyes have an "evil" quality about them. I do not know if that is true. I do know this; Friday, October 16, 2009, those "evil" eyes were filled with tears over the loss of a very nice lady, Sally.

Sally was what can only be called a fixture at our office. Hers was the voice you most likely heard if you called. She was the one you went to if you needed a little help with an issue. She always could make you laugh, or at least smile. Sally could say more with a glance of her eyes than some people can say in a speech. Sally was the one constant we could all count on. Now she's gone.

I was on the road when Kelly called me from the office. She was obviously upset, more than I have ever seen or heard her before. She choked out the words "Sally passed away" and lost her composure. I was stunned. Not Sally. That is when the tears came. I was shocked.

I cried when my mother died. I cried when my favorite aunt died. I cried when my best friend took his own life. Even when the man who gave me life died, I did not cry until the casket was lowered into the earth. Yet, here I was with tears streaming down my cheeks at the loss of a co-worker. Not a wife. Not a relative. A co-worker. I did not even know how old she was, yet I was crying at her loss. That, my friends, is a testament to just how special Sally was.

Monday, I will go to the office, and I will walk past Sally's desk. Except this time, she won't look up from her paperwork to ask how I'm doing. She won't be doodling on a scratch pad when things calm down for a couple of moments. She won't be joking with the other folks in the office. She won't be asking for a favor because someone else goofed something up and she's trying to fix it. I will walk by her desk, and she will not be there. Ever again. And I will miss her.

Work will go on. The phones will ring. The clients will get their service. The checks will still come out on Thursday. I suppose, in a while, we will all go about our business as usual. It is the circle of life. When I am hurt, I turn to music to soothe me. I found this song, that I think is rather appropriate. It deals with the cycle of life. Tonight, I will listen to this song and think about my friend Sally.

These "evil" eyes...well...there's going to be alot of tears in these eyes tonight.
Sally, rest peacefully my friend. I miss you already.