As I wait for Heather to pick me up.....I reflect back on the time that has gone by and of what will be missing in the future. Today I will be going up to see my dear friend Paul for what could be the very last time. It is a reunion of sorts........ as Dave is allready up there and I will be riding up with Heather (who flew up from Atlanta to Dayton) & Debbie (who lives in Tipp City,OH) to hang out with him. From what I understand he has taken a turn for the worst so I hope I am able to keep it together while I am there.
The 5 of us used to follow Metallica around in the Midwest at almost every stop in Ohio, Indiana & Kentucky with many more states added into the mix. It was made easy by the fact that Jason Newsted took "a liking" to us as a group and went out of his way to help when we needed it. Then at the end of 2000 things started to change.......the factory I was working at got bought out & shut down, Heather moved to Florida before settling in Atlanta, Jason left Metallica and in 2001 when I traveled up to Detroit to see The Extreme Steel Tour with Slayer, Pantera & Static-X Paul complained about his teeth hurting him. His dentist suppected it was something else and it turned out to be Luekemia...which untli recently he has managed to keep in check. Now it has gotten into his liver and there isn't much that can be done for him.
So now it appears I am facing my own personal "The Big Chill" moment......and I think how empty life will be without Paul's presence on this earth. Not that I was super close to him but it was always a delight to hang out with him and I will always have fond memories of the shows that only him & I did. But I am a greedy bastard and I want more of them. I hope that today will be a good day for all involved....it will be bittersweet to say the least but it is also a "necessary" thing that must be done before Paul goes off to his next "road trip'......
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