Tonight we laid to rest a friend.....Stan Higaki. Stan passed away on Oct 16th at the age of 50. He leaves behind a wife and two daughters...ages 13 and 9. Stan died in a car accident while on business travel. Stan was a guy that I met while our kids went to Lotus Preschool....we would see eachother at school functions, birthday parties and scouts. He was a very dedicated father to his kids and a great guy to be around. He was always smiling....
I remember last seeing him in J-town during the summer. It was before a scout meeting and he was sitting on the bench with his dog and I sat down next to him and we talked about nothing in particular. After about 10 minutes, I had to run up to my meeting so I said, "all right dude, I'll see you later....". He said, "see ya". And that was that....nothing special....nothing earth shattering.....just two guys saying, "later on". Even though I haven't seen much of Stan since I've moved to Sacramento, I will miss him. Even though we were'nt the best of friends....we never "hung out" together....I will miss him. I know a lot of people will miss him. For the 10 years that I've known him...I never once heard him swear or speak bad of someone......and he always had a smile. It's funny how things turn out and why some people die when they do. Hard to figure out.....
His wife Janet told me, in one day, her life had been changed forever. Forever....
How she feels bad because she took so many things for granted.....
How her daughters will miss their Daddy.....
It's incredibly sad and it really makes me think. How your life can be changed forever in a split second. One minute you are there and the next...you're gone. Stan never awoke from his car accident and in a way, I'm glad that he didn't. He didn't have the opportunity to "think" that he may die and leave his wife and kids.....who I know he treasured. He didn't have the opportunity to "wonder" if everything was fine. And he didn't have the opportunity to "hope" that he may be okay....only to learn that he would not be.
But in his passing, he has given us all a gift that we should remember.
Live each day, live....
Take a minute to smell the air....
Appreciate all that happens....good and bad....
Don't take anyone for granted....
Treasure your time with your spouse and your kids....
Most of all....smile....
So thanks Stan......rest in peace and know that you will be missed......"All right dude....I'll see you later........"
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Hi, I'm Stan's sister, Janis. I don't know who you are but I just wanted to let you know that I, Stan's 2 brothers, sister-in-laws, nieces and nephews have read your this post and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kind words. Yes, this was Stan... kind, gentle, fun, funny, sharp, sensitive, generous and warm. We are missing him very much.
And yes, one never knows when life will change in an instant. So count your blessings everyday and enjoy every moment.
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