A beautiful person

I am heartbroken to hear of Tommy’s passing several months later. Memories are flooding in of a junior high school boy who used to keep me on the phone till the wee hours of the morning on school nights while he played his guitar. I thought he was the coolest kid when he drew all over his notebooks the names and logos of bands (Foghat, Foreigner, Hot Tuna, Deep Purple, Yes, Metallica, and others. I didn’t even know who the bands were, but music was in his veins all his life. I will remember him as a person who always smiled, who made me laugh endlessly and who was a kind and gentle soul. I had not seen him in decades, but I knew he was around following his passion. I regret not seeing him play, and it is with a heavy heart that this is goodbye. I can tell from the pictures and tributes that Tommy was loved by many and lived authentically. Though cut short, I am happy to know he did what he loved and shared his musical talents with the world. That’s how people live on, and his legacy of being such a good man is how he will live on. Thanks for all the laughs, Tommy. You’ll always be part of my happy school-days…