One of my coworkers died.

I was 18 and working retail, he worked for a vendor and we would shoot the shit together every day. He was an older guy but had a lot of heart and energy. He was a dedicated company man his whole life from what I figure; traveled all over the state for this job fixing display fixtures and stuff.

The last time I saw him he told me he finally had a big break and was offered his dream job: managing a bar a few states down. He was so excited to pack his bags and be in an environment he fit into making money that way. Not sitting in a car for hours and dealing with shitty retail customers.

I heard from his manager he died of a heart attack a couple weeks later. Fucking tragic. That was when I saw how fast we’re replaced and we will barely be acknowledged for our time. I wanted to have that big break earlier and then found fire