Wednesday, July 17, 2002

Purpose: The reason behind creating this page is to honor the memory of a great friend who left this world prematurely. This is not a substitute for Mike's own page, which I will do my best to maintain, at least in contents. The progress of this page will be slow, but eventually I will get there. I promise to make it functional and preserve all the links that Mike had in his own page.

There will be sections where I will include "letters" from Mike's friends, therefore your participation is more than welcome. All of you who knew Mike, feel free to send me a letter/email, where you will include thoughts and reactions on Mike's death. Contact me at: [email protected]. Your thoughts will finally be moved under a section called "Notebook", but all that will happen in the nearest future.

Last, but not least, I would like to dedicate this page to all of you out there, who are going through the same health crisis that Mike went through. You may not believe it, but you are all giving me the energy to write these lines and be grateful for what I [think and hope] I have: Health. Your fight is my fight, too, although at different level.

Please continue to visit this page, as I will try to keep it up to date. One of my next steps will be to include a small Gallery with photos of Mike and his friends. I do not have any material before Fall of 1993, but I will be more than happy to include some of the photos I have from that time then.

Ernest Pecounis

Saturday, June 30, 2002

It has been about six hours since a very good friend left his last breath, at Rex Hospital (Raleigh, NC), after a long fight against cancer. The last six hours have been some of the most difficult and frustrating moments in my life, as I witnessed the death of a great friend. A friend who was more like a brother to me, not to mention, a great person too.

Mike's fight with cancer started back in March of 2001, and lasted exacty fifteen months. His battle was fueled by his strong will to live and emerge as a winner. He didn't stop fighting, he didn't lose his faith, and most important, he never let others think that he would ever give up. Fate decided otherwise, however, and a few hours ago Mike finally lost his ultimate battle with one of the worst diseases the mankind has ever known. Two minutes after my wife and I walked into his room, Mike took one more breath and his life was taken away from him... once and for all.

I am not in position to say much about Mike. Due to my demanding work schedule it became nearly impossible to visit my good friend as often as I wanted during his 15-month fight, but today I learned more about him than I ever knew during our [almost] nine years of true friendship. I heard stories about his difficult moments, when doctors let Mike know about the sharp downturn of his health. I heard stories about his happy moments, when fate allowed him to believe in life and friends gave him hope that things will get better. I heard more about his laughter, his concerns,... even about the 2-3 minutes he allowed people to see him shedding tears. Mike was the fellow we always loved and wanted to have as a friend. He was there when he was needed and never wanted to be a burden to others. He was kind, mostly happy and optimistic, hard working, strong willed, and above all, a true gentleman.

However, no good words come without the need to confess one's sins. These few paragraphs are not enough to serve as a tribute to a great friend. They are merely a small price I must pay, for I now feel unworthy of even standing next to Mike at the moment of his death. No, I never tried to harm him, in any way, shape, or form, but I must confess that I feel deep sorrow for the fact that I was not able to spend more time with such a great friend. People who knew him little, if at all, before he was diagnosed with cancer, had the chance to stand by Mike and his family, and assist them when a helping hand was needed. Where was I? Working hard, indeed, but nowhere near my good friend. Maybe I am a bit hard on myself, but nothing could reverse the time and give me the opportunity to fully demonstrate my friendship and care for Mike. I hope that some day I will get a chance to redeem myself.

Today, as a new day dawned for most people, one good person parted this world, alone, just like he came into it. Except, he left behind him a lot of friends, relatives and acquaintances who are sad, frustrated and disappointed, but most of all proud to know Mike. I never knew I was going to be so proud of him, until I held his hand during his last moments. No crying, or sad feelings will ever bring this wonderful person back to life, but his memory will always live among those of us who had the chance to meet Mike. He was not a legend, or a myth. He was an ordinary and simple person, and that made him even better than most people I have met. His journey is an one-way ticket to an unknown land, where nobody wants to go, but ALL of us will, some day. We are in no hurry to walk that path, but it is more than certain that Mike will be one of the first people we will desire to see once we get there.

Your true friend,
Ernest Pecounis