Dear Colin’s family, friends and co-workers,
I’ll compare Colin to a candle to express what I think he meant for a bunch of us:
Simple: in his look, his attitude, his language (who knew there were so sport idioms in american language!), his belongings (any of you think he could have driven his cars longer than he did?)
Warm: intimidating the first times you see him, yet so approachable and warm when you start knowing him
Available: you needed him, he was here immediately, under any condition. Always ready to help in a storm; you know, those times you run out of power
Vibrant: he would fill the room by his presence. Actually, a simple spark and here he goes on fire!
Enlightening: in all directions, every person in the room, without distinction
Bright: I would say very smart for Colin. He was a damn fast thinker, good luck keeping up with him!
Leading: you also had the chance to do a part of the Life journey with him, he showed you the way like the great leader he was, bright especially in the darkest moment and places
But a candle is also self-consuming: how tiring is it to keep this intensity going, every minute, every day, Colin? Intense is a light word for you!
Fragile: we had the chance to enjoy his presence but in a blow … he is all gone
Then it is dark, and it will look dark for a while. Like for a candle, we will regret we did not take better care of him so that we could have gone further together.
But he brought us very far, far enough that we will see the end of the tunnel. It will take a little while. At some point, we will see the light and remember, for the rest of our time, how much he helped us along the Life journey