This is my writing for comments I delivered at a service for my best friend, Michael Patrick, on January 6th, 2019. What I said in the moment differed slightly from the text below. -CC
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It’s now my time to talk about Mike — something I hoped I would never have to do.
When someone passes away into their elder years, there is usually time to have explored many aspects of their life, and if we’re lucky, say goodbye.
But Mike’s death was sudden, so we didn’t really get that opportunity. And many of you might only have known the plainly visible signs of him.
He was difficult to ignore.
Talking about how funny and outgoing Mike could be is easy, and no discussion about him would be complete without a good story or two. But getting into how brilliant, profound, loving, and genuine Mike could be is much harder. I hope you’ll forgive me if I stumble around those parts.
Mike was my best friend for over 25 years, so I know where the bodies are buried, so to speak. But he was also my legal counsel, and he advised me to keep my mouth shut until the statute of limitations had passed.
If you thought Mike as an outrageous personality, you don’t know the half of it. Continue reading