bad news and good news

Yesterday, I learned that my broker died rather unexpectedly last week after suffering a heart attack a few weeks back. Professionally, he gave good general advice and recommended a few other professionals I've had the pleasure of working with.

He was not a close personal friend, but we'd worked together for several years and we had great conversations. I always felt like it would have been a pleasure to get to know him better, to actually count him as one of my friends. So the news came as a real blow, because of both our professional and personal relationships.

Our last conversation had plenty of business content, but we also talked about his recent trip to Ireland and to the Berkshires. I told him about some of the places we enjoy out there and he took notes for future trips.

During the breaking of the news yesterday, I mentioned to the head of the office he worked in that if he charmed his coworkers half as much as he charmed me, they must have just been reeling. The person I spoke to tried to let me know I'd have resources in her office during the transition, and I tried to reassure her that now is not the time to worry about it. I suggested that we should all get through the first part of dealing with this news -- there will be plenty of time to think about the business aspects later. (She seemed shocked and said that some customers have said "that's really too bad. what does it mean for me?" Yuck.)

It was reassuring to hear that this all started just shortly after he returned from his trip, and that he was in a very "happy place", relaxed and refreshed from his travels. I hope the end came peacefully for him.

I received the good news shortly after -- a coworker's wife had a baby girl yesterday. I've worked with the coworker at my previous company and at my current company. Earlier this summer, I gave his wife some editing assistance while she was in the last phase of writing her doctoral dissertation. In fact, she handed her thesis in just a few weeks ago (talk about working right up to the deadline!). I'm so happy for them both, and the news came at an especially helpful time. Welcome, little girl, to this world and to this new life.