It’s was a bad week. Max Ward, Edith Baxter and Ben Moore all died. You’ll know the first two, as I did  – I worked at Wardair way back when, and ‘Mr Ward’ – he was never anything else to those of us below senior management status, was idolized. I got to know “Mrs B,” some years ago after decades of reading her column and her publications, and we hit it off, reminiscing about ‘the old days’ in Canadian travel. You probably won’t know Ben Moore but he was a close friend, an intelligent, funny man, and a truly lovely person, who died suddenly and way too soon.

So, this is for the family and friends who love and miss them.

Everybody Hurts
R.E.M.

When your day is long
And the night
The night is yours alone
When you’re sure you’ve had enough
Of this life
Well hang on
Don’t let yourself go
‘Cause everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it’s time to sing along
When your day is night alone (hold on)
(Hold on) if you feel like letting go (hold on)
If you think you’ve had too much
Of this life
Well, hang on
‘Cause everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts
Don’t throw your hand
Oh, no
Don’t throw your hand
If you feel like you’re alone
No, no, no, you’re not alone
If you’re on your own
In this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you’ve had too much
Of this life
To hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts
You are not alone

Songwriters: William Thomas Berry / Peter Lawrence Buck / Michael E. Mills / John Michael Stipe