On loss and leaving

Life goes on. That should be the lesson from this week.

After 11 years with the Roanoke Regional Partnership, my good friend and colleague has jumped ship for a job in the City of Roanoke's Department of Economic Development. I wish him well and rejoice that we'll still be able to work with him. But, starting Thursday, life here will not ever be the same. In time it may even be better, but the days of walking into his office and bouncing ideas around are gone. And so are our road trip adventures. Good hotels, bad hotels, great meals, bad flights, shared experiences with a co-worker I was lucky enough to call friend.

The "loss" in my headline could refer to the stunning loss by the entire Virginia Democratic party on Tuesday. And things had been going so well! I hadn't voted in a losing election since 2004. As the state tinges a little more purple, maybe this can be a wake up call.

But no, that wasn't the loss. I learned this week that another friend has lost a parent. We're at the age when that is going to happen more frequently. This week it was Betty Allin, mom of Nancy. At one time in my life, her presence was writ large. She was our girl scout leader in a small town where girl scouting was still fairly cool. She let us on camping trips and community projects and helped -- as a village must -- raise some really neat women. I some small measure we're all who we are in part because of her. RIP Mrs. Allin. And thanks!