Kerry, please try to think positively about this. We all know Heath wanted to be in a town where he could be just another Joe. He didn't want to stand out with a posse of friends in popular places. Maybe he liked doing these things alone. He wasn't completely isolated. Someone commented how he let his food go cold while text-messaging. He was obviously talking to someone. I myself take myself out to dinner and lunches quite regularly. I don't even have an ipod or cell phone. I just have a book and I'm perfectly content. I enjoy being a 'regular' in places that know what I want to order the minute I come in the door. I can't speak for Heath of course, but some people are naturally loners and it isn't a burden at all. It's much easier to be one in a large city than a small one.
Logically, I know I will get through this. We all will, in time. And we'll be left with wonderful memories of Heath. Happy memories that time will never change, nor diminish.
I was very moved by your pic, "Ave atque vale." Some 12 years ago, I lost a dear friend, Andy, to a tragic, early death. Though we knew he was terminally ill, nothing really can fully prepare you for the death of a loved one, be they young or old. As part of my therapy, I felt the overpowering need to immortalise him, by dedicating a painting to his loving memory. I titled that painting, "Ave atque vale" (Hail and farewell). It is primarily inspired by the beautiful words of Kahlil Gibran, "For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?"
I would like to post my painting here, now, with a special dedication to Heath. Ave atque vale, Heath.
"Ave Atque Vale"
(For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?)