Miles Patrick Danner, 41



Dear Smiley,
You were too young to have this end everything.
You had your whole life in front of you.
You had mastered a skill, you had two best friends, you had a girlfriend, you had a big family, you had a dog named Red, and you had a nickname because of the big grin you wore.

Then one day not too long ago, you had cancer. And lots of it. It was in some pretty bad places, like your lungs, your lymph nodes, and in your brain.

And in the blink of an eye, you had no time left and it was over.

But in the 41 years you did have, you had it all.

So here's to you, Smiley. Tonight we will say our final goodbye and try to understand, and accept, this whole thing. It's never easy to loose a friend, but it feels particularly hard when the cause was so harsh and mean.

I don't know why this happened to you. But I do know you will be painfully missed. I know the guys' yearly fishing trips will forever be a memorial to you. I know I will always have that image of you bouncing around on your stilts spackling our ceiling. I know you will never be forgotten by any of the people who had the honor of knowing you. I know you will always be remembered for your smile. I know your life deserves more than just a memory, but it's all we know how to do. I know you are in a far better place than any of us are now. A place where this is no cancer, or pain, or heartache, or tears. And I know one day, we will all join you and you will greet us with your smile and everyone will know, that's Miles.

Goodbye friend, 'til we meet again.