Lando

I once had a son named Illando.  We called him Lando; his friends called him "Ill". He was about 14 years old when I began dating his mother.  By having to be the ""man of the house" since his mother's divorce he was very resistant to my coming into his his mother's life but I was in love with her and I was not going to back off easily. Once he realized that my intentions towards his mother and he and his sister were sincere Lando and I eventually became good friends.  As with all teenagers, Lando and I had our problems but his mother and I were able to see him through his most troubleding times and he graduated from high school and joined the Air Force.  One day while we were riding in my car he and I got into a conversation about a young lady he was dating and desired to marry.  I will not get into the details concerning the conversation but I will simply say that I openly voiced my objection to his proposed union to the young lady, (largely based on my experience with certain females in my past), and Lando angrily rejected it.  We were able to remain cordial after that conversation but it was evident that our relationship had forever changed.  Lando experienced some physical problems while enlisted and was forced to leave the Air Force for  medical reasons.  He never married the young lady we had the disagreement over but went to join up with Haliburton and go to the middle east to work as a computer specialist.  Our communication became non existent after that and he only spoke with his mother from that moment on.  I always loved him and I was hurt that we were not close anymore, but I had to guard my feelings.  I was tired of being hurt.  Lando was very god at his job and he flourished.  He traveled the world, learned to play golf, had a beautiful girlfriend, and bought a fast motorcycle.
 One day while at work at the Tuscaloosa VA Hospital I received a call in my office that my wife needed me in her office upstairs.  I immediately left my desk to find out that she had received a call that Lando had been killed in Bahrain while riding his motorcycle.  He died almost instantly.  It would be futile to tell you that we have been alright since his death.  There is not a day that passes that he is not felt or seen.  His mother and I are fortunate to still be together throughout all of the heartache we have experienced.  I know that Lando and I had a special relationship.  He is still with me when I watch our NBA teams or when I go to see the latest movies.  I wish I could have hugged him and told him how proud I was of all that he had accomplished.
I wish he was still here as my son.