A Moment of Silence (A Personal Post)

I know this post is likely inappropriate for the type of blog this is, but it really is one of few outlets I have to the world, and well, it's my blog, so I'll do what I want.

I have lost a very close friend, someone who would technically be referred to as my father's friend, but whom I considered dear to me as well. The fact that he was only 51 years old is the bitterest of realities, and one that when I am reminded of it rocks my foundation every time.

A few days ago, the world lost one Tom Carroll. The salient details of his life have little to do with who he was. The fact that he served in the Navy, was a blackjack dealer, or served as a jailer for Goodhue county are only details that he worked during his life. While his service to the nation is laudable, it is not what will embed him forever in the hearts and minds of everyone he met.

Tom was one of the most boisterous people the world has ever seen. Any room he walked into immediately lit up, he was the silver lining whenever there was a cloud. He was seemingly always around when I was a child, and from what I can tell, may very well have instilled in me the mischievous side of life. He always had a joke, a game, a magic trick to wow the children.

Along with a handful of other members of my father's circle of friends, Tom has left an indelible mark on my life. There only sporadically after I grew up (relative term) and moved on with my life, the times I did have the pleasure of crossing paths with him, he was still the same old Tom. Still loud, still a mountain of a man, still able to make me feel like a child.

Again, I apologize for using a hockey blog as a mourning spot, but it really is one of the only places I have to put out there what a great man he was. I wish i could tell you that he was a huge hockey fan and thus deserved a post on a hockey blog, but the truth is I have no idea if he loved the game or hated it. Like I said, he was "My dad's friend Tom" for most of my life. He did, however, help to make me the person I am today, so he deserves the respect of a public showing of how much he will be missed.

Tom, you will be sorely missed, even by those you would never have thought would miss you. You will be missed by those who lives you touched if only sporadically, and if only during youth.

Good bye, Tom. Say hi to my grandpa, will ya?