Welcome Home My Friend

I've been asked to write this in the past by my friend.  She wanted me to let her see it while she was still alive as she wanted to know what I had to say about her while she was still able to hear (or read) my words and not when she was already gone.  I told her that there were no words needed to be spoken and that she already knew what I had to say about her being my friend.  But now that she has finally passed, I believe that I still owe her a word or two so that people would know what kind of friend she was to me.

Bang was actually the love interest of my friend John way back in High school.  She was a rather unassuming girl that my friend happened to have taken a fancy to.  And in the funny turn of events that happened, I ended up becoming friends with her as John moved on and pursued other interests.  A lot of things happened after that and it's funny to note that I even ended up becoming godparent to her only child.  And though we have drifted apart over the years, we were able to keep in touch through Facebook.

Bang was a good friend.  A fiercely loyal one at that.  I'm sure a lot of other people could attest to this.  She will be remembered mostly for how she kept smiling in spite of the great pain that she constantly lived with after getting afflicted with muscular dystrophy.  And for every beautiful picture that they shared on social media, there were countless hours suffering in bed or battling through waves of nausea that easily outnumbered them.

The Millenials coined the phrase "You only live once" and live life she did.  She still called me her friend even when I was no longer there for her.  And for that I am truly grateful.  I'm not writing this to curry favors with anybody.  I'm writing this to honor my friend who has finally been set free of her mortal body wracked with illness.  She is now finally with all of us always.

This was the last time we actually got to spend time together.  

Arrividerci Bang.  And don't forget to write =P