I was going to do a photo essay about the lake trip, but that's going to have to wait. Because right now, I have come to memorialize a close friend...

A friend who was with me in some good times, and some bad. When it was late at night, well past 2:00am, I could still turn to him for comfort. Or when I would be sick and alone and bored and restless, I would always find solace in him. Early in the morning, or well past sundown, he was always ready, willing and able to be there for me. He made me laugh. He made me cry. more than once he kept me up all night. He's been known to scare me so much that I would have to sleep with the lights on. He had been in my life since I lived in the townhouse on Amesbury. He was not new when we met. No one is ever new when you meet them. We went through several moves, one dog, one marriage, and one divorce together, and we were still going strong. Until last night. Last night, there was a great tragedy in our relationship. Lil Blue has finally given up the ghost.