Robert (Bob) Lane
Eleanor and I met Pete when he came to our home (and many other places!) in Alaska the summer of 1995. He came with my cousin, Roger Lane, and their mutual cycling buddy, David Friedkin. We had many wonderful times with the three young men while they were in Alaska. In the next-to-last email we received from Pete, he concluded with "that epic Alaska trip is still at the top of my favorite adventures."
Time marched on. Cousin Roger got married that October. He and his bride died in the ValuJet crash in the Everglades the following May (1996). Pete then organized, for two (or more?) years in a row, a "Remember Roger" trip to the Telluride Jazz Celebration that Pete, David, their intendeds, Eleanor and I delighted in. These were endearing experiences.
Then a couple of years later (sorry, dates escape me) David got married. He died shortly thereafter (unknown heart issue) while on a mountain bike ride.
We kept in touch with Pete since then, sharing some of life's milestones, and were looking forward to him visiting us in Asheville, NC, where we now reside. We spoke of this during a phone call in January of 2016, but ALS intervened.
I am so reminded, as I think back on the lives of these three wonderful men who were great friends to each other and to us, of the words penned and sung by Neil Diamond: "They have sweated beneath the same sun, looked up in wonder at the same moon, and wept when it was all done, for being done too soon." Rest in Peace, Pete. And peace to all of you who loved him--family and friends.
Wednesday August 2, 2017 at 4:56 pm