My closest friend is going to pass tomorrow...
Last edited Sat Nov 16, 2019, 09:41 AM - Edit history (2)
...Carl had a massive heart attack twelve days ago. Since then, they've kept him on a breathing tube and trying to see whether there was any brain functioning left. Long story short, there isn't, and his sister is going to let him go tomorrow, which is a blessing. He was 75, a Navy vet, and the best man I ever knew. Despite--or maybe because--he had a gruff exterior...but the cliché "gruff with a heart of gold" might have been invented for him. He was incredibly decent and generous, once you knew him. And, incidentally, he hated Trump with an incandescent rage...
... There were only two people in the world I was close to, and he was one of them. I can't imagine the world without him, and I'm going to miss him...
= new reply since forum marked as read
His passage has already occurred I suspect, but may he RIP. 
It's so hard to lose those we feel truly close to. 
Take care of yourself.
Wishing you and his family and other friends peace and strength as he passes and afterward.
He sounds like a true hero.
So sad. No words can replace a loss like this.
bittersweet as you are so fortunate to have him in your life...
Blessings to you & the REST of his family, (May have been your best friend BUT I believe that friends like you two were ARE family-Brothers from different Mothers) & may you all soon be filled with nothing but warm wonderful memories & the only tears you have are those you shed while recounting the lovely human being is was &/or busting a gut laughing...
Sounds like he was a GREAT treasure that Homo sapiens will SURELY miss...
No matter how old we get, or how many we lose, it never gets easier. Shakes us to our core. Good vibes for you. May your friend RIP.
There will come a day when you can remember him with smiles, instead of tears.
Take care
I wish for him a peaceful journey and for you that you also find peace in your heart.😢
Best friends are the best! The hardness of the world is often only softened by friend.
I can only imagine your grief. There's not yet a word adequate enough to describe a best-friend relationship. I'm so sorry you're losing such good and cherished person.
Letting go is tough. This brought me great comfort when my husband crossed over. Your friend will be fine...his navy friends and family are gathering now to greet him.
Gone From My Sight
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and starts
for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone."
Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she left my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"
there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices
ready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"
And that is dying...
Treasured friends are worth more than anything. My heart goes out to you.
PS Remember that DU has a bereavement group....
I have a friend like this and there are no words for such a big loss. We are here for you. 
May peace be with you and your friend.
May you look forward to meeting your friend one day in the Hereafter.
...a full twelve hours after they pulled the plug. He held on to life like a barnacle, which astonished the doctors, but not anyone who knew him. Smooth sailing, Carl...and many, many thanks to everyone who responded to this post. It's greatly appreciated...