Eric was born in Michigan and came to Massachusetts on a full scholarship to Harvard. I met Eric at work back in 1985. At the time both Eric and I were travelling to hospitals all over the U.S. and Canada, teaching end users how to use the company’s software. Eric taught the IT department the details of the operating system while I taught the clinical Lab. I found out later that Eric was a Liberal Arts major at Harvard and taught himself to be a computer engineer after getting the job. Over the next 25 years, Eric and I worked together on varying projects. I often went to Eric to ask questions about how the software worked behind the scenes. He always had time for me. Although I often was not entirely sure what he was talking about, I managed to come away with enough understanding to make myself look a lot smarter than I was. I truly believe my career would not have been nearly as successful if it wasn’t for Eric freely sharing his knowledge with me. Both Eric and I retired in 2016. We stayed close as friends and got together every month for lunch. Eric continued to share his knowledge and understanding of varying subjects. Whenever I was not sure of something, I knew Eric would have the answer. My wife used to say, “ask Eric, he will know”. I found out he belonged to Mensa International and probably interacted with a lot of people smarter than me. It didn’t matter , Eric would always listen to whatever I had to say. We wouldn’t always agree on Politics or Religion, but he would allow me to express my opinion without interruption. A rare trait in today’s world. Too often, such conversations are one way. Over the 7 decades of my life, I have had very few true friends outside my wife. Probably would not count all of them on one hand, he was one of the very few. A couple of years ago, I started noticing Eric struggling with getting his credit card out to pay for lunch. Then, he would walk to the wrong side of the car to get in. I knew something was not right. He continued along this path quickly. Soon, he couldn’t figure out the basic math to pay for lunch. He couldn’t find the car. He would listen to me, but his responses would be limited. We don’t go to lunch anymore. I struggle visiting him since he doesn’t know me and doesn’t talk at all. He gets very frustrated and angry. He is now in a long-term care facility. It hurts a lot to see this. I really miss our lunches. I really miss our talks. I really miss my friend.
Submitted by Stephen B.