There are two dangers in my posting a memory about Forrest. The first danger is that it will be all about me, which is something he would absolutely call me on if he were still here. The second danger is that I gush. He'd call me on that too.
As I have noted, my friend Forrest went to be with God a couple of weeks ago. While his illness had a sense of inevitability about it, as he had a form of cancer that very few people survive more than half a year, it has only hit home with me now that he is gone.
Seven years ago, Forrest utilized his influence encouraged a group of
friends to start blogs to express ourselves and stay connected. That is
how this blog originated. He moved on to other forms of expression as the years went on, including a successful and prolific level of painting. Even without him being here directly, though, his influence remained with me and the others who continued to write and interact.
Probably due to my selfish nature most of my friendships are structured in ways that the relationship can meet some specific social need I have. For example, I have some friendships with people I can laugh about specific things, I have some friendships with people with whom I can discuss specific topics, and I have some friendships with people who I can share specific experiences. While I only saw Forrest once every few weeks over the last two or three years, I am realizing now how significant he had become in my social world. I have already had several instances where I thought that some specific thing would be great to discuss with Forrest, then remembered that is not a possibility.
The aspect of Forrest's character or personality that I appreciated most was how incredibly easy it was to be honest around him. We could be open, straightforward, and sometimes blunt with each other in our discussions. It was often to a fault. Among our group of friends who met at Homer's Coffeehouse I could discuss topics and opinions that I would not bring up in many other contexts. That was largely due to the atmosphere that Forrest brought to the group.
Forrest was a great friend who I was very fortunate to get to connect with. His memory and influence will always be with me, and he will always be missed.
If I miss him some, I know that his family misses him a hundred, a thousand, or a million times more. I can only pray that God will provide each of them peace through the grief. Please remember them in your prayers.
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2 comments:
I know what you mean about Forrest. We hadn't seen him since we moved almost 5 years ago but he still influences our lives. Some in how we reach out to others and some in how we appreciate the differences in others. Some times it's just that I see a person on tv (James Rowday from Psych) and I've ALWAYS thought of Forrest and then I think of everyone else. You can't think of him without thinking of everyone else. He was so valuable in bringing people together. I didn't always agree with him, I didn't like the music he liked, but it didn't matter. I think of his family and I pray for them. I pray for all his close friends too. I'm sad that more people won't get to know him or his art. I LOVED his art. That was something we would have agreed on! :) He was unique and he embraced that. I miss him too. Thanks for posting a post that honors him and who he was to all of us.
Can't believe he's gone. Your post is a good one. I can't quit thinking about Shel and the kids.
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