We have liftoff...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKd06s1LNik&ob=nb_av3e

I say goodbye to you, my friend.

We made a good run of it, but I bid you adieu. 

It's time. I feel this. I believe this. You won't be missed in the sense of a normal *missing*. I don't want you back. And yet I am grateful you stuck with me for this ride. You were always there, from my earliest memories, and there's something to be said for steadfast loyalty. No matter how tough, no matter how low, you stuck by me. You held me back, you pulled me down, but you also forced me to feel things I'd have never felt otherwise. And because of that I know you have been the foundation from which such strength could rise. I've heard: "You are one of the strongest people I've ever met." Yes, I now can say yes, and feel it.

Gather your belongings. Why no Halloween this year? Why indeed. We've shared a lifetime of Halloweens. You take the masks and costumes. They are yours alone.

And through it all, the sadness, the despair, the struggle to claw through the shit, there was always the hope. Always the underlying gentle caress on the heartstrings, beautifully generating sounds that we both knew would eventually resonate over the rest. They've always been there. They've always sung to me, though sometimes I couldn't hear. But they were there.

So. So long, my friend. I hear you. I've always heard you. But it's time for you to give up center stage. It is not your place. You be the one to watch from the sidelines for a change.