Remembering Cory

Labor Day can’t go by for me without taking a few moments to reminisce about Cory Carrier. 2009 was a terrible year for me personally, but it was the year the world lost Cory, and everything became a little dimmer. The kid was brilliant. He was hilarious. He had such a huge personality, was so amazingly positive and upbeat all the time, was so full of life, that it was easy to forget that he wasn’t indestructible.

Cory had muscular dystrophy, and had lived his entire life in a wheelchair. He’d been the MDA’s “Goodwill Ambassador” for Arizona twice. He knew Jerry Lewis. He knew all the local celebrities, and he was a friend to everyone he met. To say that he’d survived a lot of bad stuff isn’t fair; Cory rose above his illness, and had gone to college, and become a graphic designer. He embodied the spirit of generosity, and the spirit of friendship. He was one of the nicest people I’ve ever had the blessing to know.

In 2009, he contracted H1N1. After everything else, the stupid bird flu got him.

One of the reasons I’m such a workaholic, so much of a superachiever, is because of Cory. One of the key reasons I pulled through the terrible year of 2009, and woke up every day and plodded through the rebuilding year of 2010, was because of Cory. If he could live so much life, do so many things, in the face of so much adversity and never lose hope, never lose kindness, never lose his wicked sense of humor, then how could I ever possibly do less?

While the rest of the world talks about the changes to the MDA telethon, the ousting of Jerry, and has their cookouts and other Labor Day activities, I give thanks for all the blessings that I have in my life. I give thanks for the friend I had, and still have in my memories and my heart. I give thanks for a kid who was a mentor, a role model, and a hero to me.

Every year I say a prayer, and shed a tear because I miss him.  Thank you, Cory. For everything.