One reason everybody loved Dan was that he always wanted to know how you were, how your day was going, what he could do to help you out, or maybe he'd just crack you up with one of his off-the-wall observations to make your day brighter. He wasn't a big fan of unspoken thoughts- he always said pretty much anything that came to his mind, and always wanted to hear yours, too.

Thanks to that, in a church full of 600+ people, I don't think anyone had any regrets that they wished they'd said something to him or let him know how they felt about him- he was the kind of person who could get anyone to open up and talk to him.

He died 10 days after being diagnosed with leukemia, so a lot of people (me included) hadn't even had time to hear he was sick- we just came to work Monday and found out he was gone. That's why I say to hug someone you care about, or send an email, or call them, because they might not be a Dan, who keeps those lines of communication open so constantly, and you just don't know when they might be taken away from you.

:-(

He died 10 days after being diagnosed with leukemia

Wow. Sorry for you loss.

I'm sorry for your loss. From his picture, his face is full of kindness.

(((BoringPostgcards)))

Thanks for the thought, BP. Dan sounds like an exceptional man, and it must be incredibly hard to have lost him so quickly.

Truly sorry, BP. Thank you for the reminder.

(((((sympathy)))))

Thanks everybody. I appreciate it.

I'm taking Dan's death as (like mike said) a reminder about some very important things that are easy to lose sight of, for me anyway. That's why I posted this here; I don't want it to be a downer for everybody, but rather a positive example of how many lives one person can touch if they choose to.

**hugs**

Fuck cancer and leukemia.

Ouch. Sorry, hon. Hugs.

Sad news, buddy. Condolences.

My best thoughts are with you.

Oh, BP. ::hugs::

I'm sorry for your loss.

So sorry...

An awful thing to lose someone so suddenly. You have my sympathies and condolences, BP. (((hugs)))

:hugs:BP:hugs

I'm so sorry.

I hate cancer. Hate.

I'm sorry, BoringPostcards. People have been giving me good advice about grieving in my thread about Grief. You have my sympathy and take care of yourself.

Hugs, BP. And I'm taking your advice.

There's a phenomenal program for the support of leukemia research at Team in Training. When you join, you're assigned a trainer and they work with you to get you ready for a chosen event - could be a marathon, cycle ride, swim - that takes place somewhere around the country. When you run the event, you do it to raise funds for research. Many of the racers are either survivors of family members of someone who had/has leukemia. Just thought this thread would be a good place to mention it.

And what you say is true, BP - life is very tenuous and we get complacent about it. We could all be more open-hearted to make sure the time we have is the best it can be.

*hugs*

So sorry, BP.

I'm sorry for your loss, BP. I hate all of those diseases, as everyone else mentioned.