Amigo

I heard this morning that Bob died several days ago.

A heart attack. He passed away in his sleep. As is often said, there are worse ways to go, but since he was only 60 we thought he'd be around longer.

I last saw him months ago. He looked good. Tanned. Thin. Was playing a lot of golf. Still in the real estate biz in California. He had several stories and a series of one-liners. When you were with Bob, it was like being on The Tonight Show and he was the host. He was witty and bright and always left you in a good mood.

We react differently to various deaths. This one is strange. It's as if several of us want to say, "What the hell are you doing? Get back here!"

His family plans to scatter some of his ashes near one of his favorite golf courses. Bob would have found that both touching and amusing.

And then he would have told a joke.