'A note to my friend, David' by Justin Ungs

When I first made "Loving David" public, I invited all David's friends and family, or anyone who felt inspired, to author and share a guest post. It's been a few months now and last night I was sent my first submission. Like many things lately, this came at the perfect time. While it is therapeutic and rewarding for me to process, write, and share my thoughts and feelings, I feel a great sense of relief when someone else shares theirs with me. Without any further introduction, I share a beautiful reflection from one of David's wonderful friends.

A note to my friend, David.

By Justin Ungs

I had known David since about 7^th grade, starting as small-town baseball competitors. We became friends in high school, and closer friends in college where we lived, worked, and learned together. We took spontaneous road trips, he tried to make me a better tennis player, we both worked at the local hardware store, and very much looked forward to the weekend activity.    

Most recently, I had lived just minutes from his new place in Minneapolis. I was eager to once again be close to David, beyond our routine Skype updates.

I recall one of the very first of his Sundays in Minneapolis; we grabbed lunch then headed to the lake for a stroll. We talked about a lot of things, about everything; chatter that took us the 3 miles around the lake. Because it was such a nice day, there were lots of people swimming. I remember David saying he wasn’t sure if he would fit in since seemingly “every guy” had a 6-pack. I then reminded him who he was standing next to, disqualifying his sentiment.

During the walk he talked about all that he was looking forward to; how excited yet nervous he was for class, how he was looking forward to starting something new and meeting loads of new people. And I spoke how I was so looking forward to having him around again.

In the course of his short tenure in Minneapolis we had done a lot: rode bikes, went to clubs, watched Iowa football games, bonfires, spoke politics, tried new cuisines, went to movies, the fair, and laid around on Sunday afternoons while he did laundry at my place. It was like we were back in college, just getting back from class, not having even a single minute pass by. We were always able to pick up right where we left off.

One thing I'll always cherish, no matter what life sends, is the memory of us just being friends.

David,

A broken shadow

How I can sometimes relate

Life is hard

For you, it just could not wait

That night of darkness

It shook us all

Although the first end for us

For you, an earlier call

I am sad to no longer see you

Your walk. Laugh. And zest

While you were here

It was the best

And now we move on

With new forms of you

You’re no longer with us

How we once knew

Your physical being

No longer here

But your energy and spirit

Still everywhere

We’re somehow closer

And live through your spirit

You brighten my day

And bring strength to it

I often ask

What would David do?

It brings me joy

And memory of you

I still sometimes cry

Because you’re no longer near

We had so much to do

You just got here

We need your help

Continue to guide us

Stay by our side

With hope, we progress

I cannot wait

To see you again

You will always be

My great friend

Until the day

We meet again

Let’s stay connected

This is not our end