Perspective

Just when I was reaching the apex of feeling sorry for myself over broken bones and mundane pain, I received this email this morning from one of my best friend's wife:

Tim,
I am not certain that this is the right email in order to contact you directly but, hopefully it is. I am sorry for not contacting you sooner but I just found your information in some of Francois belongings. I am so deeply saddened to tell you that back on January 9th, Francois died from injuries sustained in a car accident. It was sudden, shocking, and we are heartbroken. 

 Francois had great admiration for you and spoke of you often. Even when we were just dating nearly 20 years ago he would always talk about this guy Tim and what a great person/athlete you were. I know the last time you were here running the Boston Marathon he was thrilled that you came over for dinner. He had been running a lot himself and was in great shape (although very thin). It is difficult to imagine our lives (me and the kids) without him and everyone keeps telling me that with time it will get better but I miss my person, my best friend. If you want to talk, I can give you more details about the accident and Francois, I can be reached at...

Frans and I couldn't have been any more different. He was driven to push himself with the highest standards in everything he pursued - work, sports, family, art, music, friends, everything. We met out on a quiet Michigan farm road while riding individually in the Summer of 1990. He rode up alongside me and asked, "Where's your lid (helmet)"? He came over later that weekend to watch the Tour de France with me and my girlfriend at the time. We trained daily, traveled to races, shared movies, dinners, stories, laughs. My heart is heavy and my eyes filled with tears. I told his wife that if I had a second chance at life, I would want to be more like Frans.