In Memory of Dave

To my fans, friends, and family,

Those of you who have physical copies of Happy Happy may have noticed the last line of the acknowledgements inside. If you haven't, it says "this disc is dedicated to the memory of my friend Dave Harmer." In case you don't already know, here is Dave's story.

I first met Dave in the summer of 2006. His girlfriend, Claire, had just started working with me at my day job. Claire and I became fast friends, even though I'm four years older than she is. Adam and I invited Claire and Dave over for dinner at our apartment - something I almost never do because I hate housework - and we had a great evening. Adam, who is often shy around new people, bonded with Dave easily over mutual musical tastes (specifically Muse, if you're interested). The next day, Claire came into work and told me that as they were leaving our place, Dave said "Wow, so that's what we're going to be like in four years." If only that were the case.

The following Summer, Dave asked Claire to marry him and they started planning their wedding. The date was set. Then in December 2007, Dave was diagnosed with ALL - Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. He had a great prognosis. Everyone said it was very curable, and it was. He got better in time to marry Claire on the planned date - October 11, 2008. The only thing they had to postpone was their honeymoon, so they planned it for their first anniversary. In their first year of marriage, Dave relapsed and beat it a second time. They bought a house and moved in days before their planned honeymoon, but Dave was too weak to help with the move. They knew it was back.

Dave beat the cancer yet again, but his doctors all felt that it was a good idea to pursue a more aggressive treatment. Dave had a bone marrow transplant in March, just days before his 26th birthday. The transplant didn't take, so he had a booster on June 10th. Dave left us on June 13th. I promised Dave, just before he left, that Happy Happy would be dedicated to him. He was an avid music lover and so very supportive of me in my efforts to make my own dreams a reality and find my Happy Happy.

It's now been four years since that first dinner at our old apartment. My only comfort in this is the knowledge that Dave left this world having found his Happy Happy in Claire.

I'm telling you this story now because The Leukemia Lymphoma Society is having their biggest annual fundraiser, The Light The Night walk, in about a week and a half. Claire has been working tirelessly to raise money for this worthy cause and has even found a donor to match her efforts. Claire has raised more than $1300 already, but I think we can do more. Think about it, if you give $5, the LLS will get $10, and Claire and I will appreciate every single penny of that $5.

I hope all of you find your own Happy Happy.