Because very sad things much be sandwiched between non-sad things in my world, I am presenting the following blog presentation.
NON-SAD
My e-mail inbox at work has over 6,000 e-mails in it. I delete e-mails all the time, but need to spend a whole week deleting e-mails. I’m having a lot of trouble trying to keep the mark of the beast out of my counter. I’m down to 6,650 right now, so I have a little bit of time.
SUPER SAD
Last night, I found out that a dear person that I had the pleasure of knowing passed away unexpectedly. His name was Toast. Yup, that’s right, Toast. He had a real name, but I can’t even remember it, and I think maybe he even forgot it sometimes…maybe Greg? I loved Toast. Everybody loved Toast. He taught you things even in casual conversation. He cared about people. And he was one of the most unique people in the world.
I met him while I worked at the Outdoor Education Center (OEC) in Trinity, Texas in the fall of 2002. The OEC helps teach inner city kids the wonders of science and nature in a camp setting. Toast was a teacher there. And of course, the kids loved him.
I remember the first time I saw Toast, it was like meeting a legend. My friends, Toby and Audra, had told me lots of stories about him (and Al). Toby said that Toast used to have Blue Friday. And every Friday, he would wear blue. I was really excited to meet a guy named Toast.
I was not disappointed. Toast was a combination of handsome, strange, funny, and compassion all at once. He was someone that others wanted to emulate, but then no one else could quite figure out how to be like Toast. So, like me, you just settled on basking in his uniqueness and learning from him what you could. Toast was diabetic and had several other ailments, but never let it rule his life. He lived life as an adventure, seizing every day.
The last time I saw Toast was at our OEC reunion last April. I posted about the reunion, and I’m reposting my pic with him and Al today. Earlier in the day when I first saw Toast, he had his whole face painted half-orange/half-blue, and he was wearing a Trinity Tigers sweatshirt. Everyone had been playing ultimate Frisbee or Frisbee golf and Toast had gotten way into the spirit, like normal for Toast.
Toast (R), Me, and Al (L)
I’m posting a link to Al’s journal. Al has said some very true things about Toast. Please pray for Toast’s friends and family as they grieve over him. He will be missed. But we are all so glad we received the gift of knowing him. It’s kind of a hard time because it just seems very unreal. And I'm sure it's going to be a very hard week at the OEC. I'm assuming the kids are still at camp this week.
NON-SAD
I’ve been drafted by one of my soon-to-be-married friends to go a church down Woodway to check out the singles’ group with one of her single bridesmaids. We were told we have to get all decked out because that church has super-model like women there. So, I guess I better up my 8 minute abs up to 10 minutes.
NON-SAD
My e-mail inbox at work has over 6,000 e-mails in it. I delete e-mails all the time, but need to spend a whole week deleting e-mails. I’m having a lot of trouble trying to keep the mark of the beast out of my counter. I’m down to 6,650 right now, so I have a little bit of time.
SUPER SAD
Last night, I found out that a dear person that I had the pleasure of knowing passed away unexpectedly. His name was Toast. Yup, that’s right, Toast. He had a real name, but I can’t even remember it, and I think maybe he even forgot it sometimes…maybe Greg? I loved Toast. Everybody loved Toast. He taught you things even in casual conversation. He cared about people. And he was one of the most unique people in the world.
I met him while I worked at the Outdoor Education Center (OEC) in Trinity, Texas in the fall of 2002. The OEC helps teach inner city kids the wonders of science and nature in a camp setting. Toast was a teacher there. And of course, the kids loved him.
I remember the first time I saw Toast, it was like meeting a legend. My friends, Toby and Audra, had told me lots of stories about him (and Al). Toby said that Toast used to have Blue Friday. And every Friday, he would wear blue. I was really excited to meet a guy named Toast.
I was not disappointed. Toast was a combination of handsome, strange, funny, and compassion all at once. He was someone that others wanted to emulate, but then no one else could quite figure out how to be like Toast. So, like me, you just settled on basking in his uniqueness and learning from him what you could. Toast was diabetic and had several other ailments, but never let it rule his life. He lived life as an adventure, seizing every day.
The last time I saw Toast was at our OEC reunion last April. I posted about the reunion, and I’m reposting my pic with him and Al today. Earlier in the day when I first saw Toast, he had his whole face painted half-orange/half-blue, and he was wearing a Trinity Tigers sweatshirt. Everyone had been playing ultimate Frisbee or Frisbee golf and Toast had gotten way into the spirit, like normal for Toast.
Toast (R), Me, and Al (L)
I’m posting a link to Al’s journal. Al has said some very true things about Toast. Please pray for Toast’s friends and family as they grieve over him. He will be missed. But we are all so glad we received the gift of knowing him. It’s kind of a hard time because it just seems very unreal. And I'm sure it's going to be a very hard week at the OEC. I'm assuming the kids are still at camp this week.
NON-SAD
I’ve been drafted by one of my soon-to-be-married friends to go a church down Woodway to check out the singles’ group with one of her single bridesmaids. We were told we have to get all decked out because that church has super-model like women there. So, I guess I better up my 8 minute abs up to 10 minutes.
1 comments:
Ulovebeth said...
Everytime I google Toast I keep finding the coolest articles about him and his support for kids with diabetes. I just found a Chronicle article about him from his 2006 marathon run. Oh my heart. Miss him. The world will miss him.