I’m taking a break from album reviews tonight to remember my friend Greg Hewlett, who passed away recently. In high school, I was more metal and he was more pop, but we were really good friends. He was diagnosed with cancer almost 30 years ago and fought it ever since.

But he didn’t just fight it… he moved beyond it. He earned 25 patents for his inventions after earning a graduate degree at MIT. More than that, though, he fulfilled our voting him “most likely to succeed” promises by always finding the silver lining to his problems. When his leg was amputated, he talked about being able to go skiing on one leg. He was always smiling and we didn’t really know his problems. He was aggressive about finding that silver lining.

He inspired me even back in junior high. I’m glad to have known him and I know I’m going to meet him again. Greg, you showed me that there is always a way to find a smile if we just see things clearly.