I was at home this past weekend with my wife and kids when a friend of ours called the house. It's one of those phone calls that you wish you never picked up. The first question I heard was "did you ever play hockey with Shawn Sullivan?" I knew right away that this was not going to be a good call. I was told that he and Dan Joyce were both killed in a car accident. It really didn't hit me at first but then I started thinking back to when I was a kid playing in the acres behind the bus barn. I've known Shawn since I was about 10 or 11 and even though he was younger than me he was instantly a good friend. I remembered playing baseball and hockey together every day all day long during the summer. We grew up playing baseball and hockey together from the time we were in mites and farm league, all the way up to high school. His father Mike was even our baseball coach one year. We would sleep over each others houses whenever we could and we always had a great time together. Shawn was always a great kid that would do anything for anyone that deserved it. I remember thinking that Shawn was the kind person that if someone didn't like him, it was because they had a problem, not him. He is also the kind of person that any parent would be proud to call their son. I know that if my son were to turn out to be the warm hearted person that Shawn had always been, I did a pretty good job as a father. Shawn was also the kind of person that wouldn't take any crap from anyone, even if he thought it would be better to just walk away. He also wouldn't let someone get away with giving crap to a person who maybe couldn't stick up for themselves. He was the best of all that was good in people. He was a great brother, son and friend and I was proud to call him my friend.
I know that its almost impossible to do but I tried to put myself in his family's shoes. Even more, I tried to put myself in his father's shoes. Life really does change when you have children of your own. I remember thinking that I don't know if I would be able to go on with my life the same way ever again if that had happened to me. You read stories everyday about horrible people doing horribles things and it seems like they never get what they deserve. And then finding out that something horrible has happened to Shawn and his family, it made me wonder why the world would want to take away someone like Shawn, a person that made everyone's life a little better when they needed it. And you hear people saying things like "It was just his time to go" or "he's in a better place now." Maybe I'm selfish but I still want him to be here, as my friend. When you get older people start to live different lives. And sometimes that life takes you away from the people that you once were with everyday. And that has happened a little with me and Shawn. But that didn't matter to either one of us. Whenever we would see each other we would just pick right up were we left off, like we had seen each other the day before.
It's hard for people to talk about the way they feel sometimes, especially me. I remember feeling this way when another good friend of mine Mike Bournazian had passed away. I don't know if it makes me feel any better or worse but I know that I wanted to share it with the people I call my friends. Everyone takes life for granted sometimes. Your friends, your family and I wish that it didn't take something like this to make you really appreciate what you have and the ones we love, but I guess that life. I will always think about Shawn, probably everyday just like I think about Mike and wonder, would the world be a little bit better if Shawn were still here. If there is a heaven, I know that Shawn is there. And I hope that he is looking down knowing that I am thinking about him. I miss you Shawn, I will always think of you, and I will never forget you. Thank you for all the great memories...your friend, Wardo.