A sad farewell

Shawn Clark moved to Louisiana today. He and I worked together doing collections at Wilkinson & Sood in 1995. When DeLana moved here we all started to hang out. Shawn and I quickly connected and spent most of that summer roller blading and trying to pick up chicks. We grew closer through the years, and were able to pick up where we left off during his deployments. We often talked about the things that we thought were cool, like fountain pens, cufflinks and hats. We often read his gentleman’s book to learn how to tie new knots for our neckties, or dress professionally according to London standards. We wished we could fly to Italy and England to get custom-made suits. We really connected on that issue, and it was Shawn showing me the way. I’ve always admired his style and fashion sense, and I got what he already understood. I’ve never had that connection with anyone else, and I hope we can keep that going. He definitely influenced the way I dress at work, trying to be the professional example to those I lead. They will be greatly missed, but I know we will do all we can to keep the friendship going.