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A good friend of mine, Allen Strehlow, died at the end of the school year last year. During Spring Break in April of 2004, he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a type of cancer which attacks the bone marrow. After uncountable numbers of operations, tests and days out of school, things finally seemed to be going better. One of his operations had an infected bone in his left leg removed and replaced with a plastic version. Even though he seemed to be doing well, he still fell dreadfully ill during the month of May at the end of his ((And my)) Junior year. He was hospitalized and the doctors said they had found that the infection had passed through 83% of his body. He lost his long and hard battle with the cancer on June 4th 2006, he was 17 years old. He was cremated, and his funeral happened on my birthday of June 10th. I didn't go to his funeral, because I knew that if I did I would cry and make a complete a** of myself. However, when he died, I shed no tears...I didn't become deeply depressed, life went on. That is, until about a week ago, when my school newspaper put a eulogy to him on Page 9. This got me thinking about him, and finally, after 4 months of no tears, I finally stopped in the middle of the hallway, feeling as if my heart was being crushed. I dropped to the floor, in the middle of passing period, buried my face in my hands, and wept. I was taken to the Special Education Office ((ADD thats why I'm in that)), and was allowed to sit there and cry it out. When I went into the office, it was 4th period, when I left, it was 8th, I spent almost the entire day, weeping. Now, finally, that depression has come on, and though I've been trying to put on a happy persona for all of you, my friends on Gaia...Inside, I've been in agony. Theres just, so much left unsaid to him, so many things we never got to do as friends. Just, so much I was unable to do. I know this seems a little much for just a friend, but he was one of my best friends. I had known him since I was 5 years old. We had had a plan to try and go to the same college. We all thought he was gonna get better, and things would go back to normal. That didn't happen. And now, I'm faced with the thought of not being able to talk to him ever again, not being able to play video games with him ((His Halo 2 profile is being kept intact, no one is allowed to use it)), not being able to walk across the stage at graduation with him. Just so much. And so I say...

There was so much left to be said...

You were a good friend...

You stood by me at times when I thought no one was...

I will never forget you...