Wide Awake

I was debating what to write about tonight -- or, because I had to bring work home with me, whether to write at all -- when I got an e-mail from an old friend that one of our mutual friends died on Tuesday.

Now I can't sleep.

This is not something you expect at our age -- or maybe at any age. Needless to say, I'm in shock.

I hadn't spoken to him in quite some time, and actually hadn't even thought about him in a couple years. Of course, on a normal day, I would understand that things like this happen when you grow up and move away -- and, in general, lose touch.

Right now, the concept is lost on me.

This was someone that I've known since middle school. Someone who I used to talk to on the phone late at night, almost every night. At the time, he was one of my best friends -- someone that I never thought would fall out of my life so completely.

Life is so peculiar. Once you think you have a grasp on how it works, the ground shifts beneath you.

My thoughts are all jumbled. And writing, which is usually my salvation, isn't helping me figure any of it out. I guess that means that it's time to try to sleep again.