Wednesday, October 29, 2008

While I'm waiting for Obama's infomercial...

...I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts on the death of my former colleague, Joe Luizzi. As readers of this blog know, Joe committed suicide a week or so ago. Joe and I worked together for a year at HSBC. Actually, I was brought in to be his boss and I don't think he ever got used to it. I don't blame him; I would have resented me, too. Anyway, I grew to admire Joe and respect him as well. He had a good feel for the market; his morning comments were often very prescient. I shouldn't be surprised that he achieved so much success trading. But Joe also had a good heart; he was a good guy. A day or so ago I visited his guest book on the Trib's obit site. I was struck by many of them. Some were written by friends of his parents, others by high school classmates who hadn't seen him in years. The ones from the Merc hit me the most. One in particular lamented that he and Joe hadn't jammed like they had planned. (Joe was an amateur musician; I don't know what instrument he played, but he was very into music.) He finished the post by saying that they'd "meet again some day, ZaZa"(Joe's nickname). That touched me. It sounded so "Merc." Do people really believe they'll see each other again some day, somewhere? The other thing that struck me was Joe's actual death notice in the Trib. Before reading it, I had felt so sorry for Joe's wife, his parents, and the rest of his family. But in his obit he was remembered, among other things, as the "fond master" of Stella and the rest of his dogs. I had forgotten that side of Joe, the dog-lover. It was another example of his big heart.

Joe's death is a tragedy for his loved ones and friends. But it's also a loss for all of us, because he was a truly special human being. He will be missed.

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