FOR LANCE

I was late to work one day and I realized I had left something important at home. I don't remember what it was right now, but it isn't relevant to the story. I called my coworker, Michelle, to let her know I was running late, again. When I arrived at the elementary school where I work, Michelle and I chatted awhile. I must have gone into this elaborate yet boring story of why I just can't get my ass out of bed in the morning. I had been going to the allergist a bunch as was getting ready to start the saga of the allergy shot. (Yes, I have a cat, and yes, I am allergic to her.) Anyhow, I told Michelle that I was going to swing by my house and then to my allergist's office. As I'm walking out to my car, I received a txt message from my wonderful friend Arianna (thatgirl7278.blogspot.com). It read: Call me when you get a chance. So I did just that. This is a summary of the conversation:

Ari: Hey man, I've got some bad news.
Me: silence. . . . oh, really?
Ari: Yeah, I heard from Stacy last night that Lance was killed in Iraq.
Me: silence. . . . more silence. . . . are you sure? I'm not trying to be all "she's in denial" or anything, but the last time you heard something about Lance, they said he was in Afghanistan and he was really in California.
Ari: I know, but this time the news came from Stacy and her folks are good friends with . blah blah blah

At this point I stopped listening. I said thanks for calling and if she heard anything else to call me back. Now, if you remember, I called her on my way to the allergist's office. Somewhere during the phone call I decided to bypass the office and go straight home. I called my mom, told her what I heard.

" Your dad watches the news every night. He would be the one to ask. Let me call him and see what I can find out."

I had the same conversation with my sister. Still no confirmation. I'm not really believing the news so far. Not that I don't trust Arianna, it just seemed like such a stretch. So I went back to work and as I walked into my room, Michelle said "Oh, you just missed your mom. She wants you to call her back."

My heart sank. "Oh shit," I said. I slowly dialed the numbers to my parent's house. When she picked up, I didn't even need to listen to what she had to say. I already knew. He died in Iraq on Mother's Day.


disclaimer: the next few entries in my blog are dedicated to my friend Lance. i have decided to use this as an outlet for voicing the part of my life that involves him. it might be a little depressing, but i think it's a great story. . . because, well, he was a great guy.

This picture was taken from Lance's memorial page at www.reminderpublications.com.