I just was told told today that I lost one of my dearest friends,,, Dr Tom Williams, my med school room mate. Tom was a genius, and indeed became the asst dean at UNM med school. He was a well published pathologist who introduced me to the concept that you dont have to get an A on each test to pass med school! He was mellow- I was Hal. He advertised for a house mate. I showed up in my Ford van, Kansas blasting on the stereo. He was raking in the front yard and saw me and said oh, shit. I saw him with his preppy glasses and thought ah, shit. We became best of friends, I being Oscar, Tom being Felix. Who would have thought that you need to wipe off counters when its your turn to do the dishes??? Tom did,,, so eventually did I. I was White Trash…. he was a preppy. He taught me what sopapillas and arroyos were. He taught me how to pronounce double Ls in spanish. (Jesus Christ, Hal,,, its like a Y!!!) His family brought me to great restaurants,,, a real treat for this bus drivers kid. He was in my wedding-- I loved Tom Williams. He died. Had a cardiac arrest which was witnessed and while in the hospital. 15 minutes of CPR usually does not bode well,,,, and it didnt in his case. I will miss Tom with all my heart. He helped me grow. He accepted me with all my faults. He had amazing zest for life. I did not look him up 6 weeks ago when I was in ALBQ since we were there to visit my wifes infirm parents. Dammit. I love you, Tom, and hope that you are in a wonderful place, much like your pathology lab when you were demonstrating your DNA project, then looked at me and said Jesus Christ Hal, you dont remember a f***ing thing about biochem do you??? I am a better person for having known you, Thomas Williams. Travel well.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 01:38:32 +0000