That’s what you hope to hear when you dial in to your voice mail at work.  You hope that one message can be answered quickly so that you can get on with your day.  You expect to be off and running without any additional tasks. 

 What you don’t expect is to hear your former VPs voice checking to see if you’re OK a few months after you’ve lost a dear friend. It’s one of those voice mails that slows down time and makes you appreciate that some people really do care, for you and for the friend we’ve lost. 

So how am I doing?  I think of Cookie often and going forward was harder than I thought it would be at first.  I miss our friend but I’m still surrounded by his family and friends and we share something about him almost daily.  I know that disabled was not his style and that he is probably “shooting hoops with Ryan” at this very moment.

As for my voice mail, thank you Gene.  For being one of those people who cares enough to make the call that slowed down time long enough to remember that what we do is “just cars”.  For being VP enough to know that you are managing real people not numbers, and for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.  I remain in debt to you for all you’ve done for me and in awe of you for your continued kindess.   I’m doing just fine.