A guy I worked with in 1988 just died.

As I thumbed through the local paper just now, a name on the obituary pages caught my eye: Robert D. "Bob" Burnham. Sure enough, the obit listed his longtime place of employment as the car dealership where I had worked as an office clerk in 1988.

I hadn't seen Bob since I left that job sixteen years ago, but I remember him as having been a very friendly, easygoing, and wholly likable man. He never got mad, he never yelled, he never got involved in the petty politicking and back-stabbing that can so often permeate a workplace, and I never heard him say a negative word about another human being. Needless to say, everyone Bob worked with at the dealership shared my opinion of him. And now he's gone.

According to the obit, Bob died unexpectedly at home last Friday. He was only 57. What a shame....