Our computers at work pretty much behave themselves.

Now, that wasn’t always the case. Over my tenure at Destination Marketing, we’ve have everything from home-grown I.T. people, to the condescending experts that seem annoyed that you’re asking, “Why is my keyboard on fire?”

So, for the past couple of years, we’ve been living large. We had an I.T. named Jason. Never really paid attention to his last name. We just knew, if there was trouble with a work PC or a Mac, Jason would swing by and make things right.

Sometimes you’d have to just get up and turn it over to him for a while. Other times, he’d handle things remotely. The long sit-down repairs didn’t happen often, but when they did, it gave you a chance to talk with him.

That’s how one time we got into a long-discussion about the TV show, “Lost.” Jason had fixed my computer problems and was now just hanging in the doorway of my office as we went back and forth on the various theories surrounding the show. Was it a dream? Were they all really dead? Did you think this character was evil? What about that character?

That was probably my longest sit-down chat with Jason that I was fortunate enough to enjoy. He was a 36-year-old bearded computer whiz, with a receding hairline and an intense look like his mind was going 100 miles an hour. Until you talked with him about things like “Lost.” Then, you’d be treated to his smile.

Sunday, he was riding his motorcycle when I understand a car turned in front of him. He was just 36-years-old and leaves behind a wife and three daughters, the youngest just 6-months-old.

I haven’t stopped thinking about the last tragic passing of a good friend, Bill Strothman, when now, I find myself witnessing another person’s life cut so ridiculously short. Here one moment, gone the next.

I have to take from it the oblivious lesson—that there are no guarantees, that each and every day we get on this rock is a bonus and that, if you’re planning to do something tomorrow, you just might seriously think about doing it today.

Tim Hunter

PS  Just found out donations can be made to his family here