Rest in Peace, Jim

I met Jim Lawrence at JournalCon DC in 2004. I liked him right off the bat and began following his journal. He started following mine too. We had quite a bit in common -- we liked the same music, we both enjoyed cooking, we were both instructional designers, and we both knew what APL stands for (A Programming Language, if you're curious). I enjoyed his political views, even when they differed from mine, because he was reasonable and logical and sane. He had a lovely family too; one I hoped to meet someday.

Last night I was perusing Facebook. I saw a post from Charlie Lawrence in my feed, referencing Jim. I read with interest as Charlie described the two most important men in his life: his father, who he lost years earlier, and Jim, who he lost... yesterday.

I was shocked. Jim? No!

But yes, it's true. Jim died yesterday, at age 70, during the swimming portion of his first triathlon. Age 70. That is too soon.

My heart goes out to Jim's family. Rest in peace, Jim.