Remembering Shawn

Tweet

We had thought about going scuba diving yesterday but it didn't work out and we didn't end up going but we went through all our dive gear and made sure it is all ready to go for next weekend. I did remember this video my son and I made like two years ago and thought I would share it with you all. I mentioned before that my son and I go diving, and I know some of you have asked about it and mentioned you would like to go some time. So why not show you all this video and tell you a little about a great guy we had the chance to become friends with. We are not great at making videos but this came out alright I think. We did this video in remembrance of our friend Shawn. We met Shawn through the scuba diving shop where my son and I learned to dive. He had been diving for a few years already when we met him in 2012. He was a nice guy and made us feel like part of the group. He treated my son with respect and as an adult even though my son was just turning 17 at the time. We became friends in such a short time, he was genuinely a good guy. He was serious about his faith in God but he knew I was a non believer yet he never held that against me and never once tried to shove it at me. We had a few very serious conversations on the subject. He was a retired Chicago cop and a commander of a major university police force. For those that talk bad about cops this guy was not like that. Never did I hear or see him talk down to anyone, disrespect anyone or use this to his advantage in anyway. He actually showed me that there are some really good cops out there. Sadly I only got to know him for just over 5 years. He past in 2017 from cancer. The most amazing thing I have to say, he was positive till the end, his faith in his god didn't waver at all. I was able to see him 6 days before he past, he had his daughter call us and ask us to come by one last time if we could. We went and seen him, and it was terrible what the cancer had done to his body, but it didn't touch his mind. A lot was said in the hour we were there but the one thing that really sticks out to me was when he said, "Thank you for being my friends, I love you both. Thank you for never judging me on my short falls." Say what? That was the point my son, his daughter and I lost it. Here he is thinking he had short falls, I never seen them and him thanking me for being his friend, that certainly should have been the other way around. I will never forget Shawn, my son and I talk about him often. It's amazing how someone can come into your life for such a short time and make such an impact on you. Sorry if this was a bit long but I just wanted to share this with you all.