We have all been devastated by the tragedy which claimed the life of my best friend, Craig Anthony Murphy. We don't understand the reasons behind his sudden death and the pain of our loss runs very deep.

His laughter and smile will be missed. He was always able to see the positive side of any situation, except in a few instances in which I would do something really stupid. He was considerate enough to laugh at all of my jokes, even the dumb ones. That was one of the reasons why Craig made friends very easily. People enjoyed being around him; he rarely pre-judged anyone.

Many friendships dissolve when one person moves away; they usually promise to keep in touch, but find that it doesn't happen. This did not happen in our case. We exchanged e-mails and played phone-tag, regularly.

Craig had a layover in DC, last week, and we got together for dinner and drinks last Wednesday night and had a few laughs. It felt like old times.

I told Craig that my family will be moving to Dallas in March and Craig mentioned that he flies into Dallas regularly, and that we would get together and hang out when he was in town.

Best friends are hard to come by (they say you only get one) and now there is a gaping hole in my life, which will be hard; if not impossible to fill.

One thing that I will take from the memories of this week is this:

I will not let distance keep me from losing touch with those who are important to me.

Craig's death proves that on any day, it could be anybody's turn to go.

I feel fortunate to have recent memories of our friendship.

I just wish it didn't have to hurt so much, to learn this lesson.

- Jason