Getting the Ball Rolling

(Not a good start to taking more pictures, but I'll improve)

Last night was Council-member (Dr.!) Calvin Ball's Fundraiser at Stanford Grill.  It was very well attended, with overflow parking filling the neighboring lot.  I think Calvin's role as bridge-builder showed through last night with four of the five Council members in attendance as well as two member of the School Board.  If I were to guess, I would say there were well over 100 people there.

Political events around this time of year are funny.  If you see someone in a suit, you think "That's a little dressy for an event like this, are they running for something?!?"  Then, you see someone in a polo shirt, and you think "That's a little casual for an event like this, are they running for something?!?"

But you can't ask.  Guessing candidacy is a game.  You don't say anything to the person until you know and then they tell you whether you won.

"So, I heard you are running for _____." 
"Yes, you win.  Here are your tokens.  Go pick out a squirt gun."

Just blurting out "Are you running for something?" is sort of an insult.  I don't know why.  It just is.  In fact, the question, in the right context, can be used as an insult.  Going above and beyond the call of duty?  "Are you running for something?"  Overly friendly to strangers?  "Are you running for something?"  Take a vocal position on an issue of public concern?  "Are you running for something?"  On further reflection, it is a rather under-utilized insult that I think has a lot of potential.

Back to Calvin - there was no announcement last night.  I found myself standing in a group of political wonks when he made his remarks and as Calvin noted that there is a question a lot of people are hoping to have answered that night, but...he did not know the winning Power Ball numbers, one of the aforementioned wonks said "well played" (don't you love these guys?  They're like cynics who have been brought to question their own cynicism, creating just the slightest bit of gravitational pull).

But for our electeds, they have all the time in the world.  Name recognition?  Check.  Money in the bank?  Check.  Ability to hold a fundraiser without people asking "Are you running for something"?  Check.  Why announce and have every move from now until November 2014 viewed through the prism of whatever seat you are targeting?  In Calvin's case, why foreclose the option of staying put?

There are dominoes yet to fall.  I would expect that by 4th of July, we will at the least know the full slate of newcomer candidates and possibly fill a few of the holes on the Republican side of the ballot.  Trent Kittleman has already filed for Delegate 9A to fill what we can presume to be an open spot when Gail Bates runs for State Senate.  In 2010, the GOP took the approach that no seat would go uncontested, and I imagine they will do the same for 2014.  The question is whether they can find folks that are willing to put themselves and their families through a campaign in districts with near impossible odds (and the same holds true for whether the Dems will post candidates in Council 5 or Delegate 9A).  But then again, that's why you don't put the year on the campaign sign.

Dennis went to many more of these fundraisers than I did, but whenever we would find each other, we would normally link up and spend the evening jointly speaking with whomever came our way.  After one of Courtney Watson's fundraisers last year, Dennis noted that he had spoken with over 20 people "and didn't move once."  He took pride in that.  People came to him.


That's all for today.  Have a great Friday doing what you love!  Rock on.

Thursday LINKS

It has been a little harder for me to get my flow back than I had originally thought.  I have a good guest post that I may save for Monday, but in the interim, here are some links about what's been going on around town.

LINKS

I hate to say it, but I think it is very possible that someone could have attended Tuesday's Spring Party without noticing the central message of the event - we changed our name.  The Columbia Foundation is now the "Community Foundation of Howard County" or CFHoCo (most likely to be referred to into the future as "the Foundation").  As noted repeatedly throughout the opening announcement, the Foundation really isn't "changing" much of anything in terms of its focus, spectrum of interest, or donor base.  The new name is a recognition that the Foundation has always been Howard County's community Foundation and should wear a title recognizing as much.  As you may expect, there was some controversy surrounding the name change, but the overwhelming majority of feedback has been positive, including the transfer of at least one fund from outside Howard County to the Foundation.  Check out the website here and remember that 10 Funds in 10 months is still ongoing, with $500 available to anyone who sets up their fund through this blog.  If these funds are not established, the matching dollars go unlocked.

It's a new day for Wilde Lake.  Watching the pictures from the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, I thought to myself that this would definitely be something Dennis would have wanted to attend.  Wilde Lake was his home Village.  He followed the redevelopment discussions step by step, pushing back on those whom he felt were standing in the way of progress.  For everyone with a golden shovel, I'm quite sure that Dennis loved being your teammate.  Congratulations.

With Frank Aquino in attendance, and a slightly different make-up this year, the Annual Capacity Chart passed the Board of Education without much trouble - 6 to 2.  As you may recall, this Chart takes five votes to pass and in 2012, with the absence of Mr. Aquino and Allen Dyer voting against it, the chart sat in limbo for a week, failing to pass on the first try with a 3-4 vote.  As with many other things the Board of Education handles, the avoidance of one problem creates a legion of others.  Without passing a new configuration for where to put students, they continue to flood into "open" schools despite new-found capacity in previously "closed" schools.  In 2012, this would have worked to over-crowd Wilde Lake Middle School.  So all in all, this was the right vote.

Did you know there is a cancer prevention study in Howard County?  Ken Ulman is trying to recruit 1,000 Howard County residents to sign up for CPS-3 to "better understand the genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that cause or prevent cancer, which will ultimately save lives."  I signed up yesterday and will have my preliminary examination in early June at Howard County General Hospital.  No, I'm not particularly excited about completing 20-30 years of surveys, but I am very excited about participating in a research study that could end up being a huge stride in our collective fight against cancer.  Don't wait until this horrible disease changes your life or the life of someone you love.  To quote the Ulman Cancer Fund - "Cancer changes lives...so do WE!"

Baltimore Raven linebacker Rolando McClain has retired from the NFL at 23.  That was fun.

The University of Maryland Board of Regents has approved a 2.3% tuition increase, which will amount to the difference of hundreds of dollars per semester, and thousands of dollars over a four year term.  I am waiting for someone on the right to relate this to the DREAM Act, but there is no connection.  Oh wait, it's in the comments.

The campaign for County Executive seems to be in full swing for Anne Arundel County, with one candidate receiving a $70 fine for sign-waving near a highway.  Most jurisdictions are a little more careful about assessing criminal or civil penalties for political activity, particularly those that may have had a recent scandal involving the police department, political signs, and the County Executive's office.  I would love to be a fly on the wall for the police supervisor's next chat with this patrol-man. 

Featured Blog Post of the Day: This Is Water is one of my favorite commencement addresses of all time (and we are well into the swing of those "life instruction book" speeches right now).  Check out TJ's link to the new video clip paired with an analysis of the message.  Here's my favorite quote from the speech:

"If you worship money and things - if they are where you tap real meaning in life - then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already - it's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story. The trick is keeping the truth up front in daily consciousness. Worship power - you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart - you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out."

That's all for today.  Have a great Thursday doing what you love!  Rock on.

Lessons Dennis Taught Me

It would have been hard to attend last night's Spring Party without feeling like some turning point had been made from grief to celebration.  I don't think any of my Talking Points were discussed, but that's ok.  We had a good time.

I know that some of these posts are hard to read and I apologize for that.  One of the things about writing every day is that you have to pluck whatever is fresh and for the past five days, this is the only thing I can think about.  For those that were close to Dennis (and there are a lot of you), I hope it is helpful.  For everyone else, thanks for sticking around.

The story of a older man teaching a younger man how to live life is trite, played out, and Hallmarky.  Nevertheless, in a way, we are all teaching each other something about how to live life every day we live it; young or old.  Dennis didn't mind giving tips along the way, always starting his sentence with "You know..."  I'm going to trip down that path of triteness to share some of those tips.

1.  Ignore the people.  Play with the dogs.  As I've mentioned before, Dennis was here two weekends ago for drinks by the fire pit.  He loved our dogs.  We come downstairs to the basement, as I'm explaining the wine I picked out, he bends down, picks up a rawhide from the ground, and puts it in his mouth.  In.  His.  Mouth.  Everyone stopped talking and laughed.  My dog Brodie, quiet up until this point, begins to bark in protest.  Dennis just looks down at him, eyes wide, and offers a mocking growl through the whitened cow-hide gripped in his teeth.  My other dog Baxter begins to bark.  Dennis returns the rawhide to Brodie and peace is restored. 

Drink. In. Hand.

2.  Always Dance.  I can't really remember if Dennis was a good dancer, but I know that at just about every event in which there was a dance floor, he would spend some part of it dancing...with any woman who could keep up.  In a community as small as ours, people normally keep their cards close to their vest.  The dance floor is rarely full, but for those who have spent the past decade taking dance classes to show how great of a relationship they have with their significant other.  In the background of stiff method and structure, Dennis would explode in celebration.  One of my favorite memories of Dennis will be from this year's Evening in the Stacks.  A guest of one of our friends, someone Dennis had never met before, asked if Dennis would like to dance.  He did not blink.  "Yes."  Dennis charged out to the floor, not to do some white guy shoulder shimmy, but a full on spin and twirl and clap and groove dance.  We should all be so brave.

3.  Remember their humanity.  No matter how much Dennis may agree or disagree with someone, he never held them up or down past eye level.  We're all equal.  You can respect someone's successes and be frustrated by their actions, but you always give them a route back to a handshake.  I'll never forget the time he had Allen Dyer on his podcast.  I expected fireworks.  Dennis was going to do justice!  He sent me a text message shortly after the podcast was over, saying "Ok podcast.  Dyer's a pretty good guy after all."  And if you listen to the podcast, you don't hear a polemic looking to embarrass or shame someone (who was kind enough to take time out to be on the podcast), but rather a meeting of humanity around the petty issues of politics.  He saw through the fog.  That doesn't mean he had super-human power to avoid anger or gossipy disdain.  Dennis just knew how to get back to center and treat them like a person when it mattered most.

4.  Drink good wine.  Eat good meat.  Here's one of my favorite quotes from Dennis's Heart Attack Guy Blog: "I still enjoy drinking more than a couple glasses of wine and I have no intention of giving up steak. It is just that now I savor those indulgences a bit more. If I am going to have some wine it is going to be GOOD wine. The same goes for steak. If I am going to have a steak is going to be USDA Prime."  This extended so much further than his culinary habits.  Whatever it is you're doing, do the best available.  Have a day off from work?  Find something fun to do.  Going out to eat?  Don't go somewhere you've been before, unless you know it will be great.  I never saw the man drink a Budweiser.  He would make the bartender read off the tap list every time.

5.  Be Curious.  I said this before, but it really was Dennis's defining characteristic.  I couldn't help but laugh a little at a picture posted in memory of Dennis by Lisa.  It shows an arrangement of ribbons on the pier around Lake Kitt.  About a month ago, Dennis sent me a text asking "What's going on Downtown?"  I responded that I had no idea, but that CA wasn't doing anything.  He said "I think you're wrong" and sent me a picture of the ribbons.  That certainly stirred my interest and I promised him I would find out.  Two weeks ago I was talking with someone from CA and remembered to ask them about the ribbons.  They responded "Looks pretty doesn't it?  It's to keep the geese from sh#tting on our pier."

Dennis would have loved that.  I never had a chance to answer the riddle, but am sure he would have wanted to post about it.  Whenever I see those ribbons, I think of him...and goose sh#t.

Someone last night told me that things are never going to go back to normal.  I think that's probably right.  But we're going to have to figure out a way to make the new normal as rich, fun, and exciting as it was when Dennis was around.  This weekend is Wine in the Woods.  Dennis did not care for Wine in the Woods, but he sure as heck would not stay home when everyone else was outside.  We met at Clyde's Beer Festival, just down the street.

You live in an amazing place with amazing people.  Get out and enjoy it.  Make time for your friends.  Make time for yourself. 

Have a great Wednesday doing what you love!  Rock on.

Spring Party Primer

I think it a fair estimate to project that there will be over 1,000 different conversations on about 300 different topics this evening (we circle back a bit).  People will be talking about local politics, their golf game, downtown development, good new restaurants, and tiny objects that their children put up their nose, flushed down a toilet, or are currently missing, causing concern as to whether it was either of the first two.

I thought I would draft up a Primer on some of the more pressing topics of conversation so that everyone (or at least the dozen of you that read here) can be on the same page.  And remember, it is not polite or respectful to discuss violent crime at the Spring Party.  If you do so, I hope you are wearing a dark suit.

1.  Ken Ulman is being discussed as a likely Lieutenant Governor for the Anthony Brown ticket.  While this would be disappointing in the short term for those looking to have a Howard-County-Executive-turned-Governor, political insiders are suggesting this would be a smart move for Ken's long term career in politics.  I would project further and say that this would be good for Howard County on the whole, as Ken has always viewed this place as a catalyst for great things statewide.

If you have the opportunity to speak with Ken, please thank him for his dedication to ending homelessness in Howard County and the very exciting announcement of transitional housing and a new Day Center at the intersection of Route 1 and Route 32.  You may also tell him how excited you are about the money in the Operating Budget to help fund a Downtown Arts Center in Symphony Woods.

2.  Ravens Wide Receiver Jacoby Jones scored 30 out of 30 points on Dancing with the Stars last night.  I did not see it, but I'm sure that is something people will want to discuss.

3.  Remember the Highland Inn?  Neither does anybody else.

4.  Guy Guzzone has recently announced that he will not be making a bid for County Executive.  He will be deciding between continuing in the House of Delegates, where he has built a great deal of seniority and respect, or moving on to the State Senate.  This means Courtney Watson may have a free run in the Dem Primary for County Executive.  Presumably, some Democratic Challenger will come out of the woodwork, but it seems unlikely that it will be a candidate with high name recognition like Guzzone, Ball, or Sigaty.

If you have the opportunity to speak with Guy, you may want to congratulate him on making the decision to stay in Annapolis.  It is good for Howard County to have a powerful representative in either the House or Senate, mostly for defensive reasons.  You may want to avoid discussing the rain tax.

If you have the opportunity to speak with Courtney, congratulate her on helping to get Grace's Law passed and ask her about her objectives for the next two years on the County Council.  Courtney probably won't be saying too much to you about the Executive race.  She hasn't declared yet.

5.  Some of Dennis's proudest memories were from the "U-Club" at John Carroll University.  Not only was this fraternity known for putting on great concerts, but Tim Russert was a member and prominent alumni.  Maybe Dennis never saw it, but he never had the chance to share this article in the Alumni magazine, for which he was interviewed, about how he worked with Russert to bring Bruce Springsteen to John Carroll.  It's like all of his favorite things wrapped up in one.

6.  State Senator Allan Kittleman will almost assuredly get a free pass through the Republican primary for Howard County Executive.  Just about the entire Democratic party is dismissing his candidacy, but those outside of politics are not so sure.  He is a well-liked, well-respected, well-known politician with the confidence of someone who is not running for second-place.

If you have the opportunity to speak with Allan, congratulate him on getting Grace's Law passed.  You may want to ask him why he thinks he had so much trouble getting any of his "good government" bills passed.  Allan is also always good for a discussion about the future of the Republican party.  He is not Dem-lite (as some of the far right would paint him).  He is a true red Republican and proud of it.

7.  Delegate District 12 will be fascinating to watch this election.  It is a wide-open three member district with no incumbents crossing Howard and Baltimore County.  Columbia Dems don't play well in Baltimore County and Baltimore County Dems don't play well in Columbia.  It is not so messy as to allow inroads for a Republican, but certainly messy enough to make any prognostications very difficult.  The only two declared candidates are Dr. Terri Hill (favorite of the HoCo Dem leadership) and Dr. Clarence Lam.  (Funny Story: I was admonished by the Hill campaign for not including "Dr." before her name in a previous post.  "Fine and dandy.  That will be Mr. HoCo Rising, Esquire to you, thank you very much.")

If you have the opportunity to speak with any candidates for Delegate District 12, ask them about their favorite Baltimore County restaurant.

8.  Dennis loved dogs, local journalism, and nature.  I have a feeling we will be starting some sort of memorial fund for him, which may be best directed toward an endowed position at the Flier or some other local paper to preserve and promote local journalism.  Nothing saddened him more than the deterioration of the local press.  He even made a bet with himself that if Larry Carson ever left The Sun, he would end his subscription.  Larry left The Sun and Dennis...switched to online only (come on, a local blogger without a news subscription?  Cut the guy a break).  It would take a lot of money to make an endowment substantial enough to help fund (or even just subsidize) a position, but when people ask "What would Dennis want?" that is the first thing that comes to mind.

9.  Ilana and Dave Bittner have created a very cool new App called "TriSpies" that helps aspiring or experienced triathletes train for their next race.  This is an exciting project to follow, particularly considering the growing active community in Howard County.

10.  My friend Jon Weinstein recently announced that he will be running for County Council in District 1.  Word on the street is that Howard County committeeman at large Dave Grabowski is also considering a run for the Democratic nomination.  Jon is my friend and I will not be planning to offer any substantive commentary on this race other than to say that I choose my friends carefully.

If you have the opportunity to speak with Jon Weinstein, you may want to ask him what it was like to be on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me or the substance of his (obligatory) Route 1 campaign plank.

Don't forget - Wear Red.

Have a great Tuesday doing what you love!  Rock on.

"It's a Dark Suit"

My first Spring Party was two years ago - the last year it was at the Spear Center.  The year before, in 2010, I sat out the "Party of the Year", prompting the photograph of my Kindle and a glass of wine that serves as a "Profile Pic" of sorts for this blog.  I remember Dennis telling me, "I certainly understand wanting to sit one out...but the Spring Party?  You're missing a good time."

So in 2011, I went.  It was my first year on the CA Board and we had a meeting later that night.  It was a perfect send off for everyone who wanted to wish me luck and give me last minute warnings that this was a mistake.  Not Dennis.  He said (on many different occasions), "I'm glad you're there.  I'm glad it's not me, but I'm glad you're there."

As Dennis and I are chatting with Dave Bittner, right next to the bar in the center of the room, Greg Fox walks up.  Somehow, in taking my hand out of my pocket to extend it to Greg, I dump a very full glass of red wine all over my shirt, my tie, and my suit.  "That's it.  Cut this guy off," Dennis says, before breaking into his high-pitched, attention-drawing, laugh.  After cleaning up, I remember commenting that this was not the introduction to the community I was hoping for.  Dennis, being Dennis, responded "Look at the bright side - it's a dark suit.  Can I get you another glass?"

I'm done grieving.  I will always miss Dennis.  I will continue mourning him in the right places at the right times and probably for a long time after today, but I'm done grieving.  I am torturing myself with news articles, old blog posts, and photographs to no meaningful end.  I imagine many of you are doing the same.

It's time we pick ourselves back up and rejoin the party.  On Tuesday, we will wear red.  Not just at the Spring Party, but wherever we go.  It is the color of passion.  It is a signal to one another that we are moving forward.  For me, it will note a turning point, after which we will make sure celebration is the key to our remembrance, not sadness and pain.

We can really do something great to remember a great man, but we need make that shift.  This is just part of that great thing, but it is the first part.  And if we shed a few tears on Tuesday, that's ok too.  Red is just dark enough to cover them up and shine on through.

(Hat tip to Bert for the pic)

Living Like a Visitor

I spent a good part of the weekend wondering whether I would be sitting here this morning.  Wondering if I would ever sit here again.  Like a hunting club or a fishing hole, this was a hobby, and a "place" of sorts, that I shared with a friend and now he's gone.

Every post, I would think about Dennis.  He read everything I wrote, I read everything he wrote, and we talked about it whenever we would see each other.  It's the way a 58 year old and a 31 year old become friends.  He had this face he would give whenever he thought my post was too corny; almost a grimace, but paired with a laugh to ease the slight.  Dennis would occasionally give the gentle critique of "That's not the way I would have written it, but your way is fine too."   We would talk about "post ideas" and "scoops", getting together about once every two months or so, just the two of us, to trade the things that we "knew but couldn't write".  It makes me smile to think that there are still some things out there that he knew but couldn't share.  He loved being in the know...even if it almost cost Columbia a Whole Foods. 

About a year ago, Dennis and I met for coffee (very rare for us).  He told me that he was going to start writing less.  He wasn't going to stop writing, but maybe only write once a month or once a week, and only if it was something "really good".  Dennis was his own worst critic and thought his posts had lacked the substance he expected of himself.  The daily obligation was feeling a little weighty, understanding that this obligation was self-imposed.  We talked about "funks" (a word I could do without for a while) and how writing is about momentum.  We talked about getting back in the groove and the amazing difference between having nothing to say and hours later needing to capture all of the "post ideas" that come flooding out of the ether.  We talked about all of the posts that he "didn't really like" that were enjoyed by all of us on the other side of the computer screen.  Finally, he did his little Eureka head-lift and said, "Why would I ever give this up?"  Then I teased him for 20 minutes about how he was just fishing for compliments and how I made some of them up just to make him feel better.

All that said - I was ready to go cold turkey on Saturday.  That morning's post was everything I wanted to say about Dennis and I wanted people to read it.  What better way than leave it at the top of this blog...and be done.

And I know the compulsion is to think about what Dennis would have wanted, but that may work in naming a street or installing a plaque, but it doesn't work for something like writing.  Sometimes you just lose the juice.

Then I read this:

"When you go to a new city, you tend to notice everything: colors, buildings, people, landscapes.  System 1 is on the alert and soaking in the details.  The sense of acute vividness that people get when visiting new places comes from the fact that a lot is unfamiliar and thus stands out from the background.  When you return home, not so much stands out (even if home is pretty amazing)." - Cass Runstein, Simpler: The Future of Government

I spent yesterday reading between 60 and 70 of Dennis's old posts.  The reason we loved reading him, and looking at the pictures he would take, was because he took our familiar and made it remarkable.  And, really, THAT is what we all should be aspiring to do.  Because our home is amazing, filled with amazing colors, buildings, people, and landscapes.

If you have a beer on Sunday morning after running up 3 miles of hills, take a picture!  If you are eating a crazy mixture of barbeque and baked potato, take a picture!  Let your friends know!  Celebrate it.  Because you don't know when that will happen again and by celebrating it you have made your day remarkable.  Live the life of a visitor with the knowledge of local.  Be curious.

All of these lessons are what he taught me.  I always thought I had become a better writer by pounding away morning after morning, but it was really by way of Dennis.  I may spend the next week, maybe even the next month, just writing about him, but I'm going to do my best to keep the momentum going.  When you stop, you stop looking to the world for things to write about.  Your curiosity dulls.  Not much stands out...even if it all is pretty amazing.

Have a great Monday doing what you love!  Rock on.

My Man Dennis

"My man!"

Who still says that?

"My man!  TC!"

Anytime we would run into each other at one of the dozen "must attend" events of the Howard County non-profit circuit, he would give the same greeting with a huge smile and an outstretched hand.  Dennis never made you wait for his conversation with whomever he was speaking with to end.  He would interrupt.  If the other person was talking, he wouldn't even say excuse me.  Just "My man!"
 

Dennis just bought an iPhone.  He was at my house two weekends ago and I joked with him that he could finally stop carrying a Smart Phone and a camera.  Dennis responded that he was still going to carry the camera around for a bit, reminding me that he had started a Tumblr page for all of his photographs.  I spent a lot of yesterday looking for pictures of him and I together.  I gave up.  All I have are pictures he took of me, with him on the other side of the lens.  That's just how he rolled.

The quick darts of progress in the tech world excited him.  These things were “neat”.  He looked forward to buying groceries by scanning items with his phone and ringing the total up at the front register.  Even the smallest bit of anticipation was a steady source of joy.  He took little for granted.  I hope he had the chance to test his iPhone-scanner...and learn that things are not quite there yet.

Dennis recognized anticipation as the source of happiness.  I think that’s why he enjoyed real estate so much.  It is a forward-looking profession of inspiration and aspiration.  Although I never talked to him too much about his work, I have to wonder if his missteps and mistakes, to which there were a few, were brought on by optimism.  Dennis expected the best without being spoiled with naivety.  He knew the leaps he was taking.  When he took a hit, no one was the wiser.

Not Dennis Lane

One of the best descriptors I’ve heard of Dennis over the last dozen hours or so has been “storyteller”.  He wasn’t a reporter.  He wasn’t a blogger.  He was a storyteller.  If there wasn’t a story, a context, or a take-away, he wasn’t interested.

I don’t think Dennis would have written anything about the reports surrounding his own death.  He would note the passing of a great man that everyone loved.  He would joke about how The Sun posted the wrong picture of the victim, most likely scaring the family of a very alive Dennis who probably has a busy day on the phone to look forward to.  He definitely would have linked to this clip.  But he wouldn’t have talked too much about the crime.  It’s not the story he would want to tell.

As his friends, we should take solace in the idea that Dennis left this world with very few regrets.  He had the rare opportunity to confront his mortality and live on past it.  You did not share a room with Dennis J. Lane without knowing he was in it.

My man.  My man.  You certainly made it hard for the rest of us to let you go.