Mike, I’ll Miss you, Bro!
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007I started to write something about Mike last Monday. It seemed like anything I wrote was just not right. So I kinda gave up. But it kept nagging at me, y’know?
Mike was a bud of mine, not just an aquaintance or a con buddy. Hell, we talked about doing anthologies together if we could’ve managed to get ourselves out of the grind. (Me, Mike with my other close bud Randy Green, that would’ve been cool, right?)
When he told me that he was moving to VA from NC a few years ago, I got all excited thinking maybe we could travel and work at each other’s houses. Creativity was sometimes better in pairs. Hahaha, as with most of my grand schemes, we just never did.
Although I haven’t talked with Mike on the phone all that much in recent years, we always hung out at the cons. I was really hoping to hang out with him a lot at this year’s Baltimorecon too. Maybe try to catch up on all that was going on with him in the time that we haven’t talked much.
I’ve thought a lot about Mike’s passing and all of the regret I had of not being more proactive.
We need to treasure the friends we have now, not waiting for later.
Go out and let that bud of yours know what a great person he/she is. It sounds kinda lame, I know but I think sounding kinda lame and letting them know is much better than trying to be cool and never telling them how special they are to you. 
To my irreplaceable bud, Mike Wieringo. I’ll miss you, bro!
I love that pic of Mike. We always made these stupid faces at each other. Hahaha, he was so silly! 
Always doing the ske-otch-es!
