• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Catherine Gacad

  • About
  • Categories
    • Archives
    • Blogging
    • Burning Man
    • City Guides
    • Education & Politics
    • Favorite Books
    • Finances & Retirement
    • Parenthood
    • Relationships
    • Religion
    • San Francisco Bay Area
    • Travel
  • Hire Me
  • Subscribe
    • Feedburner
    • Bloglovin
    • Feedly
  • Search

All Posts

Gone Too Soon

I have been in a glum mood since finding out a grad school classmate passed away recently. What’s worse than learning that a 35 year old acquaintance died is knowing that you had a falling out with him because of some comments made about his self-destructive lifestyle in the newspaper advice column.

When I was selected columnist for the business school newspaper, I vowed to write openly without concern for public opinion. While I had developed a following, that honesty also elicited what–in today’s tech age–would translate into defriendings. He threatened to sue the school. The newspaper retracted my comments. And less than a year later we had little care in the world, graduating with high hopes and grand ambitions.

I’m not proud of being the cause of someone’s past misery, which makes me all the more sorrowful over his death. I hope he soon forgot, as I did, until the memory resurrected itself as I read his obituary.

He was an accomplished athlete and academic. But what struck me most was how much his family loved him. His dad’s letter had me grabbing for tissue: “I love you more than words can express and always will and I wish I had said this to you more when you were alive.  Love, Dad.”

Bucky, I’m genuinely sorry for our past estrangement. When our paths cross again, because I’m confident they will, I’ll tell you in person how wrong I was and how I admire you for living your earthly life with such passion and fervor. Rest peacefully. xoxo, vixen

Related

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

07.21.12

Tweet
Pin
Share
0 Shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mcm

    July 25, 2012 at 11:03 am

    I’m really sorry to hear about your loss, Catherine.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

Categories

  • Archives
  • Blogging
  • Burning Man
  • City Guides
  • Education & Politics
  • Favorite Books
  • Finances & Retirement
  • Parenthood
  • Relationships
  • Religion
  • San Francisco Bay Area
  • Travel

Popular Posts

  • An Exploration of World Religions: Zoroastrianism
  • A Flowchart for Choosing Your Religion
  • Why Do Guys Date Girls Who Barely Speak English?
  • Touring Sunnylands, "Camp David of the West," near Palm Springs
  • UC Berkeley English Department
  • How to Avoid Fecal Coliform Bacteria on Your Next Flight
  • What to Know About the Lair of the Golden Bear
  • Daily Interviews
  • Pre-Thanksgiving Not So Good News
  • Oysters at Cafe des Amis

Back to top

© 2025 Catherine Gacad.