My buddy Doug unexpectedly passed away this past Summer. We're still processing it and months later I still automatically start to call him about something almost every day. Doug was loved.
Doug was a force of Nature. He came up with some of the dangdest and funniest shit I ever heard anywhere. The hardest I ever laughed in my entire life was one night when he told me the story about a crazy ex.
We were laughing and crying and hugging each other, pretty much holding each other up, and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe, and I was literally thinking that I might die laughing.
I remember thinking what a way to go, and thinking why not. I should've died years before that when I came up on a pack of wild dogs out in the woods. Getting eaten by wild dogs would've been brutal but epic, and so would dying laughing. They say laughter is the best medicine. I'm still feeling the side-effects...I get a smile every time I think about it.
He went quickly. He had a mild heart attack and it turns out he had heart problems. He was in the hospital waiting on more tests. He was on morphine so he wasn't feeling any pain. He didn't have to go through a long illness or anything. It's really not a bad way to go.
If the belief system we shared is true then right now Doug is in paradise. He and my mom were big buddies and I know they've enjoyed catching up, when he's not spending time with his own mom. Hopefully his dog Tea is there too, with the rest of our animals.
In the perfect closing to Doug's life, the last thing he did in this world was to make a joke about his penis. I couldn't have scripted it any better.
A friend was with him at the hospital and that was good. Doug had slid the curtain closed to use the urinal. After a minute or two his friend asked if he was okay. He replied: "I'm fine. Nothing to see here." He was of course referring to his penis. A second later he was gone.
Doug had an interesting but challenging life. He enjoyed himself to the fullest, and I know that because I was with him for a good chunk of time, but like most of us he struggled to make ends meet. I can say for certain that he enjoyed penis jokes until the very end.
If our belief system holds true then his struggles are over, for all of eternity. How great is that? Douggie Dang has made the grade. Good for him. I'm still here. He's the lucky one. Hopefully we'll catch you on the flip side. Thanks for the laughs buddy.
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