In Memory Of Philly
The other day a friend of mine in Alpha Co. took his own life. Spc. Edward Barbazon (or Philly, as I knew him) committed suicide in the early morning of Tuesday March 9th, 2004. Perhaps the rigors of this terrible war finally got to him or the stress of being away from all that he loved back home finally set in...I don't know why he did it, and I won't speculate too much. But I do know that his memory will remain alive with me. I knew Butch best, not as a fellow soldier in my unit, but as the guy that got off work and who I'd see at the Coffee Scene hanging out an hour later. He would always come up to me (practically running into me) and slap me unreasonably hard on the back asking, "how the hell are you doin' Joe?!" He seemed to have a very short attention span and was extremely exciteable, but I think that was the appeal for most people that knew him. No matter if he was having a good day or a bad one, he'd end up in a great mood in no time. Yeah, that was Philly. Sometimes, when I'd see him coming my way I'd cringe because I knew that stinging smack on the back was coming and the conversation that was more of a loud yell would ensue. Of course for the most part I'm the quiet, silent-in-the-corner type. But he'd find my corner everytime! At other times, especially in one of my thoughtful ones where I'd be reading or writing something, I wished he would just go away and let me think. Well, now he is gone away. And I don't know what to think...