Tom Jordan

Rest in the peace of the Lord, Tom Jordan. You wouldn’t want any maudlin words or ceremony, but you can’t stop me now. You could be the most irritating son of a bitch, but you could make me laugh even at that. You never did anything in half-measures. You never let the impossible get in the way of whatever you pursued.

Last year on your birthday, you found out that you had advanced cancer.

When I visited you last week, you were a shadow of your former self, but you still had the fire behind your eyes. We shook hands in parting, and I said, “be good”. You gave me that look you always gave me – the look that said, “go ahead and believe that if you have to”.

In your farewell message posted today, you said, “every day since that birthday when I thought I was going to die have been special gifts. Don’t feel sorry for me, I’ve lived a good life. I have travelled all over the United States and the world. I have a lot of friends and family and an amazing daughter. I’ve loved and been loved.”

Nobody could have a finer epitaph than that.

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine
Et lux perpetua luceat eis:
Requiescant in pace. Amen.