I just found out that one of my favorite people from law school was killed in a car accident. I'm sitting here stunned. We were in the same class, and from the first semester had study groups together. We made a good team: I kept all the good notes, and he had a teacher's mind so would help me to turn that jumble of knowledge into cohesive statements of the law.

He hosted the first party for our class, and was the main impetus behind us being such a close-knit, supportive group--professors commented regularly on how we cooperated instead of competing. He was rude, obnoxious, and funny as hell.

After we finished school, he moved out of town and we lost track of each other, but I was just thinking about him the other day.

And now he's gone.

I can't say we were close, but we were friends. And even though I probably would never have seen him again, I miss him.