Goodbye My Friend

Saturday afternoon I received a text from a friend, Scott. It stated to call him immediately. I sensed something was off and quickly called him. When he said "You may want to sit down for this", my fears were realized. What I imagined was correct, but never would have guessed to whom. Our friend Paul Kurtzman had unexpectedly passed.

I was shocked. Paul was only in his early 40's and healthy. He worked out and ran regularly. He was in good physical condition. And that morning he passed away while at the gym from a heart attack.

I spent the rest of the day with tears in my eyes and anger in my soul.

I got to know Paul through going and traveling to wrestling shows about six years ago. It may sound a bit odd to most, so I'll clarify. A bunch of people from all over the world became friends by following a wresting promotion called Ring of Honor. The one man, named Greg helped to bring many of us together through his generosity of hosting fan gathering. So now I have a group of what I consider close friends that stretch around the globe. It's strange and rather cool how we have all come together become true friends and not just a group of people with a common interest. Trips become more about hanging out with pals than the wrestling. We aid support to each other in times of need. And many of communicate via the internet all the time.

Paul was one of those guys. He lived in Quincy, Mass. He was husband, a father, and a grandfather. He was a strong religious man but never shoved those beliefs upon any person. And quite simply one of the best human beings I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. He was a genuine person; always willing to listen, to talk, and/or give advice. I really cant say enough good things about the man.

I always looked forward to the two-four times a year when I got to see Paul in person. Like I said, he was just a great person to hang around whether it was was at a wrestling show, drinking a fine ale, site seeing, or munching on some food at local eatery. He and his gracious family have opened their home to me before on road trips. I traveled the roads with him on a couple of occasions. Now all I left are stories of the past with no new ones to be written with him as a character.

Over the last few days many of us in "the little wrestling circle" have been talking about Paul on our forum and Facebook. We've tried to turn our grief into positive remembrance, as Paul surely would've wanted it that way.



Paul. Spring 2011. Atlanta

Honestly, my words here doesn't do justice to the man. But right now, it all I can muster.



I miss you buddy.
But I will never forget you.






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