The thread that ties us all together...

A few days ago, Leroy Sievers, author of the NPR blog "My Cancer," wrote about having to sell his Jeep Wrangler, a vehicle he hadn't been able to drive for a year. He wrote about the 'Jeep wave,' about giving one last wave to other Jeep owners on the road.

Yesterday, I parked next to a mud-splattered Jeep Wrangler at the gas station, and I thought of Leroy. Words that make an impression, that spin the slender thread that ties us to each other.

Today, when I opened the blog feed I've looked forward to reading every weekday for the last two years, this was what it said:
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Leroy

Posted: 16 Aug 2008 07:59 AM CDT

Dear friends:

I'm so sorry to bring you this news. Leroy passed away last night. It happened very quickly.

You will hear from Laurie later. In the meantime, please let me tell you something all of you already know, how much this blog and all your comments have meant to Leroy. He felt all the affection and good wishes and strength you sent him every day. He told us that of the many things he had accomplished, he was proudest of My Cancer. The connection he felt with all of you made such a difference in his life.

I feel so privileged to have had a chance to work with Leroy and call him a friend. All of us here do. We will miss him so much, just as you will.

If you'd like to, please leave your thoughts, remembrances, anything you want to write here. I know Laurie will read them. I know you will keep her and Leroy in your thoughts and prayers today.

--Maeve McGoran
-- Wright Bryan

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Here's one last Jeep wave, Leroy, from the girl in the red Chevy S-10. I saw you in that Jeep yesterday, and now I know why. Drive fast, drive hard, be who you are and who you want to be in the place beyond mortality, beyond cancer. You've earned it.