Thursday, February 17, 2005

Remembering Franklin

I worked with an African-American man who had a heart attack and died at his desk. Franklin was wonderful person, with a heart as big as his muscles. Franklin, then in his thirties, lifted weights after work and had muscles so big that he had to have dress shirts custom made to fit his enormous chest and biceps.

My desk was located close to Franklin's desk and we would talk often. He was a very gentle individual and we got along very well.

On March 31, 1998, I left the office to go out to lunch. This would be the last time I would see Franklin alive. Co-workers told me that he had a heart attack in his chair shortly after I left for lunch. Paramedics rushed him to a near-by emergency room, however it was too late. Franklin did not make it.

Franklin's death hit me like a ton of bricks. It was a wake up call that I heard loud and clear. At the time of his death my wife and I were still dating and I was on the fence about getting engaged. Immediately after Franklin died we started looking for a ring and were engaged almost a month later.

Seven years later I now realize the important role Franklin played in my life. I have a beautiful wife and children thanks in some degree to him. He was the catalyst. I wish he were alive so I could thank him.

Everyone in our life is there for a reason. We just may not know the reason.

8 Comments:

At February 17, 2005 at 9:50:00 AM EST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Isn't this idea essence of Chassidic thought?

and your writing too, you might never imagine who you are reaching and affecting with your words and your readers' responses.

 
At February 17, 2005 at 11:55:00 AM EST, Blogger Jack Steiner said...

It is important to remember how fragile life is and to respond accordingly.

 
At February 17, 2005 at 8:39:00 PM EST, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why was it needed to say he was black? Just wondering...

 
At February 18, 2005 at 1:41:00 AM EST, Blogger Stacey said...

How very sad that Franklin lived such a short life. Sounds like a special guy.

 
At February 18, 2005 at 9:48:00 AM EST, Blogger A Simple Jew said...

Stx: Thank you for your comment :)

 
At February 18, 2005 at 10:32:00 AM EST, Blogger Keren Perles said...

[After I posted, I thought about it some more and decided to take back some of my semi-sharp words. Oh, that we could do with all of our mistakes as we do on blogger, and just press the delete button...]

LJ--Oh, dear. For the same reason it was needed to say he was in his thiries and muscular. Think about it.

SimpleJew, this is a touching story. Anon is right--You're doing the same thing. Reaching out and making an impact on people's lives.

 
At March 31, 2007 at 10:18:00 PM EDT, Blogger Gandalin said...

ASJ,

Another beautiful post.

Of course Franklin was there to serve a purpose in your life, just as you were there to serve a purpose in Franklin's life. Did you ever wonder what that was?

 
At April 2, 2007 at 6:25:00 AM EDT, Blogger A Simple Jew said...

Thank you, Gandalin. To be honest, I have never given that idea much thought and don't even have an inkling as to the reason...

 

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