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We all knew it nearly 25 years ago........Andy could always make us laugh.

When I say 'we' I'm talking about a group of good friends from college.  We all went to CU, Boulder, in the 1980's.  Most of us were fraternity brothers and to this day, 20 or so of us are still in touch on a regular basis, even more of us on a not-quite-as-regular basis.

It's a great group of guys and now wives and kids...and in many ways the bond always seems to have been built around humor.  The ability to make others in the group laugh is like currency.  On that basis, some are richer than others, but everyone is "comfortable".  Everyone is funny, and witty and clever (and sometimes dirty) enough to keep the group amused all the time.  Andy's sense of humor put him right near the top.

In our lives we all find ourselves a part of various groups...maybe from work, or school, or the neighborhood.  For me this group from college has long been the most important.  I don't see them as often a I'd like (most of them are in the Denver area) but when I do it's always fun.  I saw them all in early September at the first CU game of the season.  We all laughed so hard that day, like always.  Andy was right at the center of it all, just being funny.....just being himself.

Andy died last night.

He'd been fighting cancer for a couple of years and we all knew he wasn't doing well, but I guess we didn't expect it this soon.  Andy was 44.  He leaves behind a wonderful wife, Tammy, and a wonderful little boy, Jake.  Selfishly I've been thinking about how our group gatherings won't be as good without Andy.  The real important thing here though is Tammy and Jake and what they've lost....all the time Jake would have had with his Dad.

So make the most of every day...we never know how long we'll have.

Andy didn't have long enough, not even close.  We'll all remember many things about him, and how much he meant to us. There won't be as much laughter for a while...but some day I imagine there will be again.  We'll all look back at the decades and the fun and the great times with Andy and the other friends who matter to us.  Then when we think back on some of the funniest moments we'll remember once again....

Andy could always make us laugh......

We'll talk again soon.

Don