He's somebody's hero.

At the restaurant I work at, I have a customer that used to come into the restaurant all the time. He got out of the Air Force and now only visits once every few months. As pleasant as he is, I hate when this guy comes in. He could almost be twins with a guy I went to high school with. The only difference is their hair and their height. AF man is taller than the guy I went to high school with who shall remain nameless. I know almost nothing about the AF guy, just that he left the AF.
The guy I went to high school with had what seemed to me like a picture perfect life. He and his girlfriend had been dating all throughout high school. They were a beautiful couple. Always had smiles on their faces when they were around each other. After high school, he joined the Army. I believe all the men in his family were Army Proud. He and his girlfriend were engaged to be married. She found out she was pregnant and had a baby. He was in Afghanistan when a terrorist (I refuse to call these idiots anything other than that) dressed in an Afghan Army uniform blew himself up and everyone else around him including the guy in my high school. (This is what I have heard, so if you know who I am talking about and this is not the correct story, please let me know.)

I found out over facebook and called my best friend to see if she could confirm. After she made a few phone calls, she confirmed and my heart broke. My parents were out on a walk and I remember calling them to let them know I would be going for a drive.

This guy was the life of the wrestling team and my theatre class. As a wrestling manager for two years, I had come to know the wrestlers as "my boys" even if some of them were older than me and three times my size. He got people pumped up for meets, encouraged the younger boys to do their best. When a younger kid lost a match, he pumped them up, taught them to learn from their mistakes. Just a great guy all around.

I wasn't close friends with him. He just made a big impact on my life through high school and in his death. I remember a lot about him.
Everytime my AF guy comes into the restaurant, I get sad knowing that high school guy will never be around his baby while he grows up, but I know his momma will never let him forget who his daddy was.

Sorry for the sad post.
I've been sorta depressed lately and AF guy has been to the restaurant 5 or 6 times in the last 2 weeks. And I've been bummed out for a while. Dunno why.