Rachel and I were on a billiards team together for several years. She was always so sweet and endlessly funny. I was going through a really hard time in my life. We weren't super close friends and only ever saw each other at pool. One day, she took me aside and invited me to her house. Out of desperation for closeness and a reprieve from my struggles, I agreed. I got to meet her dog, who had just had surgery and was laid up in a crate. Rachel welcomed me in to just chat. I laid it all out in the table. All of my thoughts, feelings, struggles with PTSD, drinking too much, and my young son living states away with his father because I wasn't in the best financial place to care for him. At the end of it, she was frustrated. She didn't hide behind trying to make me feel better or sugar coat any advice. She almost scowled at me and said, fix it. Don't sit here and mope about it, fix it. Get a better job and get him to move back here. Make the decision, set the goal, and do it. Stop wasting time crying about it. I was so taken aback, in the moment. It was callous, but also the most kind and sincere advice I'd ever received. I didn't know she had cancer. We would banter about her starting a potato vodka business at her new home in Montana. When she moved, we were all excited for her new adventure. It came as a shock, like a ton of bricks had been dumped on us, when she passed away. I will forever remember her. Like today, when I was reminiscing about the time I got my life back together. Rachel played a key role in that. I will always love and remember you.