“Whatever happened to that guy? You remember - I can’t quite remember the name - but he was always fun to be around.”
A long-time friend of mine once paid me a compliment. He told me that if he were fighting back-to-back with another soldier, surrounded by dozens of enemy fighters, he would choose me to be that 2nd soldier. I thought that was a rather odd thing for a guy to say about a woman, so I asked him what prompted his choice.
He said it was simple enough. He told me he’d never seen me let anyone down who needed me, no matter what kind of sacrifice that might entail on my part. He said that I was the only person he knew he could 100% trust not to abandon him and run off or to surrender to the enemy to save my life. He knew I’d fight it out with him until the end.
As odd and ungainly as that was, it was one of the most flattering things anyone has ever said about me, and is much the way I would like to think that I am. Unselfish, loyal, not a quitter, and always there when needed. If I’m remembered that way, I’d be very happy indeed.
To my family - fondly.
To my friends, colleagues, and Fellow Dopers - he was a pleasant fellow.
To the rest - not at all.
I’ll probably be remembered by many people as that guy who said, “I hope this doesn’t kill me.”
As the guy who developed a cure/vaccine for a disease or two.
“I could have been a contender.”
“Who?”