Flight

Dear Dan,
I find it hard to believe that you are gone. You and I met at Nutowne when you were 21 years old and
you were sitting there watching me and another guy play pool and I finally asked you if you were going
to just sit there or were you going to play. You said you would play pool and I put your name on the
board so that you were next to play and from the moment forward we were friends.
We were in and out of each other’s lives over the next 17 years!

I remember when I was working at the Phoenician Resort and I got laid off from my job, I called you
and told you all about it. It was not even probably 30 minutes and you were over to my house and you
handed me a check for $500 dollars and told me, “You are going to need this to get by until you find
work”! I remember never being so touched at such a beautiful thing to do when I knew he could ill-
afford to do such a thing. I tried to refuse it but he insisted that he wanted to do this. A couple months
later I tried to pay him back after I had found work and he just said, “Mike it was a gift and you are my
friend, repayment was never needed or wanted”.

These are the kinds of things I remember about Dan. He was the kindest, sweetest young man I had
ever met and it pains me to even right this now without crying because I remember so many good times
together. His big hugs when you would come over to see him. His smile and laughter. Here is a little
poem I wrote for you Dan:

Flight

Don't grieve for me my friends
For now I'm free and I know
I've left behind some pain.
I was longing for the heavenly skies.
Before I lost all dignity,
God helped me enter eternity.
Don't grieve for me as he has set me free
Just remember how I used to be
For I have taken flight to peace

I will always love you Dan as my friend, my confidante and as a genuinely good human being.

Love,
Mike
Michael.klocke@cwmm.net