How Keith Was Boss

1. Whenever things at Apex Driving Academy would get too difficult for me, such as dealing with unpleasant customers and unhappy incidents, I would turn to Keith - or - more often - he would turn to me, and either tell me in person or tell me in an email, "Now, Claire, don't let these people abuse you," or something to that effect. He would call me "our Claire," as in "our admin," or "our event coordinator," and he would always be there to back me up, or help me understand how to deal with some of the tough cases. It was such a wonderful thing to feel like he was there to support me, personally, in our goals for our team.

2. Keith also made a heckuva good martini. He was positively artful and serious about it and I really appreciated his craft, as there are not really a lot of us "at home" type martini drinkers these days. He was The Boss at bartending.

3. Strolling into the Apex classroom, cigar in hand, he would say, "What's going on?" and then stroll out without waiting to hear much of an answer, as he always knew that if something were going on and it needed his attention, I would have already told him. Just that curious, overlord eye would come forth, strolling like The Boss.

4. I once stayed overnight at a bed and breakfast in his hometown, just to get a perspective of how much of a Boss he really was, and how far he had come. Believe me, he went really, really far!

5. Keith is now The Boss of His End - he didn't forget everything and fade away. Instead he flashed out like an ultrabright comet:  fiery, flashy, and then off into space to unlight alone...and yet the streak that he left on our lives will remain, will glow, will make us laugh and cry and fume and wonder...how far we have also come, that we knew this guy.

Condolences to his family and friends. Think of his brightness, his craziness, his vehemence and vitality, his zest for life, and live yours.