Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Franconia Notch State Park


Dan & Lisa at the Flume
Originally uploaded by Dan Bailiff.

Yesterday I posted some pictures from a trip that Lisa and I took to Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire. It's where the Old Man of the Mountain used to be - apparrently his face finally slid off the mountain. I had planned on taking lots of pics that included the fall colors but we were about one weekend too late, and we actually drove through a brief snow storm on the way up there. The highlights for me were the Flume Gorge and Kinsman Falls. Lots of good pictures in this set, so be sure to click!

Monday, October 02, 2006

David Andrew

Today is a sad day for alot of folks who knew David Andrew. I'm sorry if my little blog is the way that you learn this news, as I hope this will be chance to remember him for who he was.

In short, from my limited knowledge of the facts: For that last 2 years or so, David suffered from a troubling cardio-vascular condition that left doctors puzzled. Recently they determined that he had some kind of enlarged artery in his brain that required surgery. He and his wife Shanin flew out to Ohio for the operation. It was a tricky procedure that involved cooling his heart and brain to give them ample time to operate. The operation seemed to go successfully, but David suffered a massive stroke shortly after, and the doctors were unable to find any brain activity thereafter. He and Shanin had opted to volunteer him as an organ donor, so the doctors waited as long as they could as they kept his body alive via life support. Last night about midnight, with his family around him in prayer, they finally released him from the machines and said goodbye.

While I wasn't a close friend of David, I did spend some considerable time with him. He and Ty Bottler and myself were golfing partners at times, and David was always up for any kind of sport or competition there was. A true sportsman, he was always competitive but never mean-spirited. He was always friendly and kind to people, and it always struck me how he would ask me questions about myself or my opinion while coming across sincerely. He was an outgoing and humorous guy, who wasn't afraid of the spotlight, but never let it go to his head. I think he was always more concerned that other people were having a good time and wasn't doing things to boost his ego. I can still hear his laugh and loved to see him joke around with people.

David was also a devout Christian and a man of uncommon faith. For many years he was deathly allergic to chicken, to the point where he would have to ask resturants and such not to prepare any of his food that had been prepared in the same area as a chicken dish. I recall that one day he bravely told us in a meeting that He had felt that God had given him the faith to heal him from the allergy. He soon after started eating chicken again with no ill effects at all. He was always involved in our young adults college-age group, and was one of the pioneers of our Main St. "church" in downtown Portland. He was someone that could make faith and devotion seem cool and fun.

It is always sad to see a friend go, especially one so young. I will miss him. But I take encouragement from the hope that we will be reunited with him someday. The proverbial silver lining is that He is with our Saviour now and is free from the pain he suffered.

Good bye, David! See you soon!