You should be turning 57 today, Russ. It’s not fair that there are STILL people walking the face of this planet who don’t deserve to be here, and yet you, and Jimmy Buffett, and others, didn’t get more time. We only got to celebrate two birthdays together for both of us, but you’ve been gone now for longer than we had together. Two years ago we had dinner together and spent the evening with friends before spending the rest of the weekend together. And six weeks later, you were gone.
I have been taking baby steps forward the way I know you’d want me to and I look back and see how far I’ve come. You rarely “preached” about anything except how important it is to live life and not get bogged down by the things that don’t matter, because we only get one chance at it. So that’s what I do.
I think you’d be proud of all of us for moving forward, keeping you in our hearts and keeping your memory alive. For living. And I still feel you sending me messages and cheering me on, and there are way more good days than bad now.
Like Jimmy Buffett said, I’d rather die while I’m living than live while I’m dead. I love you, my Viking. Sweet dreams. 🥰💖😘