Mom, I could use a hug.

I just learned that an acquaintance over many year's duration is dying of brain cancer. He's smart and a good teacher and a wicked flirt, and way too young to die, but he has round-the-clock hospice at his home. If he was in the room when you read a paper at a conference, you always felt like he really listened to it, enjoyed it, and had good comments, and he was this way for students and colleagues alike.

sniff