A friend of mine died this week. David McClendon, with whom I worked for more than a decade at the New Haven Register, passed away suddenly from Sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that scars and damages the internal organs. He was 44.
Dave became very sick last March and spent 10 days in the hospital. After he got out, he started a blog about his struggle to manage and overcome his illness. Here is a link. I don't think you have to have known David to be moved by his posts. To the end, he was insightful, honest, optimistic and positive. No self pity here, no whining. I hope I could be half as brave.
Even though I knew David for more than a decade and he was my boss for several years, I learned things from his blog that I never knew, that he was a cartoonist, that he longed to write serious fiction and that he was once a serious martial artist.
Many memories have un-spooled in the last few days. In them, David is always smiling. It's how I will always remember him.
My deepest condolences to Dave's family and loved ones. May he rest in peace.
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