RIP

it has been a somber two days for me. i received a phone call last night from a friend that a mutual friend of ours, whom we'll call E, had something tragic happen in her life.

E's boyfriend (whom I'll call R) was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Indiana when he was there TDY for his job. E and R shared a home in Crosby, TX and R often took small TDY trips for his company, based out of Houston. Apparently, R and a couple of his co-workers stopped at a bar after work Saturday night to have a couple of drinks and unwind. The details we have are sketchy, but what we do know is that some guys overheard a conversation R and his two friends were having and it upset them (we do not know what the conversation was about). When R and his two friends left the bar, several men (as we were informed) jumped them in the parking lot and beat them up. R was beaten so badly that he was unrecognizable. The other two friends were beaten and are still in the hospital, but out of critical condition.

This makes me so sad. I had met and hung out with R several times. We all got together on NYE 2007 and spent it together in Austin. Knowing R, it's hard for me to imagine him starting any confrontation or participating in one. He was always the goofy kid keeping the peace. I am heartbroken for E. The doctors sustained R on life support (he barely had a pulse when the paramedics arrived) until E could fly to Indiana to be with him. They removed him from life support last night; his heart subsequently stopped beating. His family donated his organs; the funeral is in Pennsylvania.

I cried a lot for E and R, for his family and hers. They had dated for so long that one name was synonomous with the other. I cry for the pain that she is going through, for losing someone she so dearly loved. I am angry at the men who did this to them. I feel that it wasn't only done to R; it was done to everyone who knew him. They did get the men into custody and are charging them with murder. I hope they get the death penalty. Today, I believe in an eye for an eye. I have no compassion for them, those evil dirt bags who did this to R.

His death has also put into perspective many things in my life. It has made me appreciate the life I do have, the people I have in my life. Those who love me, those I love. I have told them all several times how I feel for them in the last two days. It has also made me think about organ donation. R's death can potentially help save many others. While his ending has been tragic, his life gives new hope for those on the list. Today, I decided to become an organ donor. I hope that should anything ever happen to me, my life will not have ended for nothing; that I will be able to save the life of someone else.

I do not want this blog to end on a sad note, but today that's how I feel. If you haven't thought about organ donation before, I encourage you to consider it; talk with your family and loved ones about it. Tell them you love them. You never know how tomorrow will end.