Snow With A Tinge of Sadness

I woke up several times last night, checking on the snowfall. The wife and I desperately wanted a snow day. We have these great sleds and wanted to go to the giant hill behind our building and enjoy the first really good sledding snow of the season. Plus, the dog loves it. I could write a whole post just about his love for the snow. But that has to wait for another day.

This is because I have to tell you about Thomas. Thomas is the front desk man at my building. For 15 years he has worked here, a though I have only been living here for just over five of those, he is the closest thing I could call a friend in the building. His eccentric attitude and friendly persona is infectious. He always wore the loudest outfits, from all-purple suits to kimonos and African garb. He didn't know black clothes. His wardrobe is not made up of dour stuff of typical Washington, DC. Instead his attire simply reflected his view of the world.

Over five years Thomas and I had numerous conversations. I helped him setup his wireless Internet at the front desk. Helped him sort mail a couple times on super-busy days when he was overwhelmed. He sings for his church choir, something I did when religion made sense to me and I still had a singing voice (I think I was 12 then). He had a love for Tina Turner, and he talked about her music constantly. I found rare albums online and burnt copies for him, and once helped him burn and troubleshoot a DVD that wasn't working on his laptop. He loved Tina.

I'm having trouble between writing in present and past tense, because Thomas died yesterday. It's so weird. Just a week ago he was behind the front desk doing what he did ... solve everyone's little problems they didn't want to deal with. We had such a good rapport that he would always set aside my mail (and you know I get a ton of it every day) and would always have it there waiting for me on the corner of the counter. I never had to ask for it. Everyone else had to ask and wait; me, it was just always there and he'd give me a smile, ask me how my day was, we'd share a quick note about each other's day and I would move on.

He was gone all last week because he was sick. The wife and I thought he had a cold or something, like everyone else in DC right now. But this morning there was a subtle note on the front desk saying he died. No explanation, just "a sudden illness." Don't know if he contracted something weird, or had an unspoken cancer no one knew about. I have no idea, and I may never know. I haven't stopped thinking about him today. And when I walked into the lobby and didn't see my mail on the corner again, I half thought he'd be back there, ready to apologize and laugh as I jokingly gave him shit for it. It wasn't meant to be. And now it never will be.

I never got to say goodbye, and it may seem silly to write something this long about someone I only knew on such a singular level. Thomas was cool, though, ultra cool. He just had a way of looking at things and never seemed anything less than happy all the time. So here is my goodbye to you, Thomas. A couple good videos of Tina, who at 70 is rocking in a way I can only hope to do when I am 35. Your two favorite Tina songs, Thomas, hope you enjoy them, wherever you are.

River Deep, Mountain High:

Proud Mary: