Guestbook

This message is directed to Melissa, members of his family, and most especially, to his son, Benjamin. You will no doubt hear from the many people who knew Greg very well over the years. I am not one of those people. I am writing because I am sure that there are folks who, like me, knew him only tangentially but who were profoundly affected and inspired by him, even if he didn't know it. While Greg and I didn't really hang out much back in school, like virtually everyone else I know, I saw him as a brilliant, kind, congenial, and loveable guy. I reconnected with him on FB, and I enjoyed seeing pictures of his little boy pop up on his news feed. Like me, he had a child relatively late in life, and I felt a kinship with him (sadly, never expressed explicitly) because of that. I loved looking at those pictures, at that joy in his eyes, at the beautiful little boy who would one day be like his father. When I saw him with his son, I saw me. Having a child in the 40s brings with it a special kind of awareness not generally thought about by other parents, a nagging realization that there are no guarantees you will live to see your child reach adulthood. Greg's death makes that stark reality even more clear and makes his passing especially sad to me. I hope one day his son will come close to understanding what his dad meant not only to his friends and family, but to people like me with whom he only had casual contact. I never knew Greg well enough to discuss his family. I honestly don't know if his parents are still alive. If you are, you should know you did an amazing job raising your son. Though his life was too short, you should realize that his contributions are really yours. They are yours because he didn't become who he was without the love, values, and support you gave to him. He did not turn into the person he was by accident or coincidence, and I can tell you that I hope my son grows up to be just like him. Benjamin, you will someday read about the wonderful person your father was and about the great things he did when he was alive. You will not have the benefit of witnessing this directly, and you may have a hard time really grasping why he was so beloved and so respected by so many. But, Benjamin, all of that pales in comparison to you. You are no doubt his greatest achievement. You are the most important thing your father ever did.