RIP, Dear Neighbor

So last Friday we had our annual Devonwood Party, hosted by Daria and Rod. The mostly empty nester crowd had a fine time, drinking and sharing apps. We have a development of 81 houses, each built by its owners -- no developers were allowed to buy more than one 1/2 acre or acre parcel. Some of our residents have lived here since the beginning -- in the 50s.

I LOVE living here. We have a tropical garden to call home. No house looks like any other . I never tire of walking the 1.1 mile circle around the 'hood. When I compare this place to the 1/5 acre tract house where I grew up, I can't believe it. I plan to resist Wifey's desire to move somewhere else as long as I can.

Anyway -- at the party, I noticed or President and VP were missing. Ben and Gloria take turns being each office -- no one wishes to supplant them. We joke that they're like  Juan and Eva Peron. Gloria is Italian -- raised in NY. Ben is a Miami native, in the bicycle industry. They have 2 grown sons living out of state.

Ann, another Board member, told Wifey about the absence. Ben, a fitness buff, was out for his daily run, when he collapsed. A neighbor, Bruny, who is a AA flight attendant and wife of a prominent local ENT doc, gave him CPR. The paramedics took Ben to Baptist, and put him into a medically induced coma, and chilled his body.

As of that Friday, he wasn't doing well. Gloria didn't wish news to spread.

Well, each day since Friday, we checked in. Ben has a large and loving family, who gathered at Baptist Hospital in vigil. We left a dessert platter at the house -- relatives were going there to sleep and shower. We checked in with Gloria.

Within a few days, with no change, I knew the prognosis was poor. My brothers Barry and Eric have taught me that someone not breathing "in the field" generally doesn't do well. Who knew how long Ben was without oxygen?

Yesterday, I spoke to Eric. He said my neighbor would be lucky if he passed. Tonight, at Valentine's Day dinner, at Amara on the Bay, Wifey got the text -- Ben had died just after midnight this am.

We were by no means close, but lived in the same 'hood for 18 years. His death has still struck me.

I checked online, and it turns out Ben is a giant in the world of bicycles. He is co-CEO of the largest bike importer in the US. It's another of those Miami companies, like World Fuel, which exists under local radar.

Gloria told us Ben's funeral will be Wednesday, at St. Thomas Episcopal, just outside of Pinecrest. We will attend, of course.

Wifey is creeped out by the death. She noted that probably just last Thursday, he and his wife were discussing the party we would attend. And then...gone. That's how it is.

I texted Barry, Eric, and Paul, and admonished them to put nothing off. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. We must, as Warren Zevon said, enjoy every sandwich.

So RIP, my sweet neighbor. 60 is not, by any means, old. May his memory be as a blessing...