My dear friend, John Slatin, will soon pass from this earth. The selfish part of me wants to stop all the clocks right now, so I can race down to Houston and hold his hand one more time. But the wiser part of me, weeps, and knows that my life has been forever changed by knowing this dear, sweet, brilliant man.
How blessed I am to be his colleague and friend. I love you, John Slatin and I won’t let you down. I will continue to be the self-appointed goddess of accessibility for as long as I am on this planet.
Time to go and cry and listen to my Wicked CD cranked all the way up:
For Good (selected lyrics that express my breaking heart)
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend…Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the woodWho can say if I’ve been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the betterBecause I knew you…
I have been changed for good…
waking, knowing in my heart that John Slatin has already breathed his last breath, realizing he will forever be my accessibility jedi master.
Very sad. I didn’t know him, but have enormous respect for the work that he did and his personal bravery.
Condolences to those loved ones he left behind.
Big, big, BIG hug to you.
<3
Services for John Slatin will be held this Sunday, March 30th. For details, check http://leukemialetters.blogspot.com/
I’m so sorry. I’m sending the biggest of hugs your way.
Dear Glenda, I so much concur with your thoughts. John has been a transformative force in everyone he came across, such an inspiration, it’s a tragedy that his young mind won’t be around us anymore. But he has left behind an incredible legacy, one that you, me and many other are very proud of.
You will always be UT’s accessibility goddess, and from the sky above, I imagine John with a big smile, celebrating all your achievements.
natacha, rhonda, smo, bruce,
thanks for your kind words and loving hugs. i know john will always, always be in my heart.