I'm half a world away but damn, I feel this.
Rick and I always seemed to have an affinity with each other.........I recall when, after being "absent" from HR for a while, I happened to post in a thread that Rick was watching and there was this almost immediate, absolutely warm, genuine and personal response from him at seeing me back here. Speaking from my perspective, he always seemed to draw the good out of people and that is a gift that too few people possess.
Like so many others I sent a card wishing him all the best but as a later afterthought, I phoned the hospital he was in at the time and spoke to the staff at the nurses' "station" nearest to him, asking that they convey a message from me.........whether they did, I'll never know but Rick is one person who will stay with me for the rest of my life.
BTW, I'm 66yrs old so who knows how long I'll be treading the HR boards for.