A few weeks ago, I said good-bye to a friend of mine who was a passenger on Comair Flight 5191 that crashed in Lexington, KY. Pat Smith was my friend, my mentor, and my hero. We went to India together last Thanksgiving to build homes for tsunami relief---he changed my life. He has been here at the restaurant helping me clean and get the place ready for the grand opening. The night before we opened, and three days before he died, he was here hanging pictures, fixing a chair I broke, and cleaning our bathrooms.
Beyond being an extraordinary Habitat volunteer and leader, he was a wonderful friend. No matter what, he always had my back. Gave me a job when I was searching, supporting all my ventures even when he had so much going on himself.
I could go on forever about the impact Pat made on my life. But what I'm doing instead is continuing his legacy. I am helping on a committee to continue the project he was working on in Mississippi for Habitat.
We need volunteers to go down there until Christmas. Go to www.kyhfh.org for more info.
Sometimes I wake up and think it's all a dream that he's gone. Why did such a great man have his time cut short. Maybe he had already taught us what we needed to know. Maybe it was to show us that our time is limited on earth. With this in mind, I push forward with my volunteer efforts --even if it means staying up until 2 am to do it. I always told my friends that Pat was the kind of person I would go to the ends of the earth with. So even in his death, I'm still following.
The grand opening of this restaurant has been dedicated to Pat...or as I call him, PSmith.
