‘I’m dead. That sucks.’
From a posthumous blog post by Army Maj. Andrew Olmsted, who was killed in Iraq last week:
What I don’t want this to be is a chance for me, or anyone else, to be maudlin. I’m dead. That sucks, at least for me and my family and friends. But all the tears in the world aren’t going to bring me back, so I would prefer that people remember the good things about me rather than mourning my loss. (If it turns out a specific number of tears will, in fact, bring me back to life, then by all means, break out the onions.) I had a pretty good life, as I noted above. Sure, all things being equal I would have preferred to have more time, but I have no business complaining with all the good fortune I’ve enjoyed in my life. So if you’re up for that, put on a little 80s music (preferably vintage 1980–1984), grab a Coke and have a drink with me. If you have it, throw ‘Freedom Isn’t Free’ from the Team America soundtrack in; if you can’t laugh at that song, I think you need to lighten up a little. I’m dead, but if you’re reading this, you’re not, so take a moment to enjoy that happy fact.
I'll throw in my buck-o-five for that . . .
Posted by: Rob Hill | January 07, 2008 at 09:24 PM
Me, too. His post was absolutely heartbreaking.
Posted by: Brendan Wolfe | January 07, 2008 at 09:27 PM
Olmsted. Not "Olmstead."
Posted by: Gary Farber | January 10, 2008 at 05:58 AM
Thanks for the correction.
Posted by: Brendan Wolfe | January 10, 2008 at 08:01 AM