It seems that once a year, someone very important dies. I realize how irrelevant that statement sounds. It seems that every year at least one person that I am very close to dies. When I went in to work on Saturday morning, I was half awake and fully ready to jump back under my sheets. It was 6 A.M. and we were having our usual meeting to prepare for the craziness of Black Friday, or for anyone who has never worked in retail - the day after Thanksgiving. Before the events kicked off, our General Manager called my department, one other department and a few miscellaneous people to the back of the store, for what I assumed would be an assignment for our meeting. As I was walking through the doors of the Install Bay, I saw a friend of mine crying. She looked as though she had just seen a ghost. "I called you all back here because I know how close you were to this man," my manager said through choking tears. "I wanted you guys to know before we tell every one else. AJ was in a motorcycle accident last night. He was killed." It is funny how you can feel every possible human emotion rush through your veins in one instant. All the girls from my department, in perfect syncopation, collapsed to the floor with their heads in hand. The air grew thick, and the muffled cries of all of my friends began to slowly fade from my ears. I have worked with AJ for a little over a year now. When I first came to the store, he was one of the first people that befriended me. I have spent about 80% of the last year working by his side. It is so hard to believe that in one moment, all of that came to an end. For the past two days, I have thought of nothing but him. I was remembering one of the last conversations we had, last week at work. I told him that i didn't want him to buy that damn bike because they are just not safe. I told him that one of my best friends was killed last year on a bike, and that I didn't want the same thing to happen to him. He promised me that he would be okay. The very last thing I said to him that night was "I love you, AJ. I'll see you next week." But I would not see him the next week. AJ died in front of 3 of his closest frends, doing something that he has worked at for over a year. He did not suffer. And I thank God for that. When I sat down wih his family yesterday, I realized how much I am going to miss him. We shared our stories of him, and laughed about that goofy smile of his. I feel so heartbroken for his mother. It hasn't quite sunk in yet. I'm still in that numb phase where I know something happened, but haven't yet realized that it's AJ. He was my friend, my brother, and the most ambitious person I will ever know. Rest in Peace, my love. 11-18-06