Thirtysomething

The Last Goodbye

It's a sad day around here in Casa de DJ Heavy. We got a call last night that one of Ron's friends, who we all call Battle, passed away over the weekend from kidney failure.

He'd be sick for years, we all knew this by looking at him. We didn't know what it was, and he refused to talk about it. Ron thought it might be HIV, but I asked Battle once and he just said that it was something but it wasn't that and something about the way he said it made me believe him.

I met Battle at a happy hour the same night I met Ron. He and Ron went to college together, and honestly I've never met a greater character than Battle. He was always up for a party, or a road trip, or a night of general debauchery. He slept on my floor or couch many a night after we'd wrestle his car keys away from him. He was a funny drunk, even when he eventually got to the point of being belligerent. He was fond of telling people to "Go to hell" or "You suck" when he had had a few too many and you'd have to know Battle to find this part of his personality endearing. But it was.

What I find somewhat interesting is that Battle chose to die. He could have done dialysis, which isn't an ideal way to live but would have saved his life, but his sister says he chose not to. I'm not sure whether he was a candidate for a kidney transplant. In the end though, he chose to move home with his mother to die. I can't imagine what brought him to that decision. He knew he was going to die and also chose not to let any of his friends know that.

Ron and Battle were friends for nearly 20 years. I've only known both of them for the last five, so I'm not sure what their history was like before then (although I've heard some great stories), but over the last few years we'd see Battle in spurts. Sometimes we'd see him almost every weekend for awhile. Then we might go the better part of a year without seeing him. During those times, Ron would inevitably say something to the effect of "I better call Battle and make sure he's still alive." It was a joke, then, of course and eventually he and Battle would get in touch with each other. But I know Ron feels pretty badly that he's been so wrapped up in the baby that he hadn't realized how much time had passed since the last time he heard from Battle. That he'll never again have to check in.

Labels: friends

posted by DJ Heavy D @ 9:02 AM