No love, no friendship, can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever.- Francois Mocuriac

I'd been thinking about Ken anyway when I read that quote above a little while ago. Today is the 3rd anniversary of the day he died at the hands of another person.

Ken liked to think of himself as an ambassador. I wish I could remember his exact phrase (ambassador of happiness?), but basically, he saw the best in everyone around them, and tried to get them to see it as well. I have a couple old letters from him, and reread them a little while ago. I wish I still had some of his old e-mails as well. He did everything in his power to get me to believe in myself. I still struggle with that, but I always remember that he believed in me because he told me so, repeatedly. Maybe one of these days, I'll believe him for good.

In Nov 2003, I finally decided that I was at least worth the effort it took to take care of myself, and to try to lose weight to become healthier. I found the courage to try in part because of the encouragement he would always give me, although he never told me to lose weight. On the contrary, he did his best to convince me that I was beautiful and worthy of love no matter what I looked like.

My life took a huge turn in more ways than I can count because of that decision. I have many friends that I'd never have otherwise met. If you know me through DWLZ or running, in an indirect way it is because of him.

That is Ken's forever mark on my life.