i learned today during a whole-company meeting that our receptionist, Michael, had succumbed to cancer. He had been undergoing chemotherapy for quite some time, and was even at work on Friday (the 13th). He passed away early Saturday or Sunday morning. Michael was one of the nicest, most-hardworking (as his stint on Friday showed) people that I’d ever met. Now, he and I probably had no more than a couple of sentences worth of conversation in my 2.5 years here, but he still remembered my name, and we greeted each other by name.

Michael, even though you were a small part of my life, your absence has made an indelible mark.