On the way back, I accidentally blew by the turn I meant to take and wound up near the downtown of the suburb I was driving through. I decided to take a detour and go visit my friend Mike’s grave. I haven’t been there in about four years, so it was time. 

The thing I didn’t realize was that it was only four days until his 47th birthday. I wished him a happy early birthday, talked to him about some stuff going on in my life right now, told him I missed him, snapped a pic, and then left. 

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned all the different coincidences between him and Nathan here before. But Mike died at the age of 19 on September 19th while, 19 years later, Nathan was born on September 19th. Oh, they both share a middle name. And they have very similar taste in music.

I miss him.