my uncle randy poynter died in his sleep sunday morning. he was 49. it was a complete surprise to everyone in the family. he wasn't even actually my uncle, he was my father's cousin. my sis and I always referred to him as uncle. especially when he was county commissioner of our town and we were rowdy teenagers getting in trouble. ok, especially when I was a rowdy teenager getting in trouble.
we didn't see each other that often. whenever I did see him, i always felt relaxed and important. randy made you feel important. I had never really felt important in my late teens and early 20's but when I was around him I certainly did; and not in a stuffy, holier-than thou way at all. randy simply gave all of his attention to you. that's probably why he was such a good politician.
he was indeed a "mover and shaker" - he was commissioner of Rockdale county, where I grew up, while still quite young. while in office he became head of the atlanta regional commission, a new and influential commission faced with the daunting task of trying to come up with solutions for the out of control growth found in metro atlanta in the 90's. he excelled at the a.r.c. and gained respect from many of the state's political leaders. randy championed useful solutions to environmental issues. he ran a hard fought, respectable, and clean campaign for lieutenant governor in 96. after the campaign he ran an environmental consulting firm that also was involved in the purchase and operation of local water and waste water systems. he was on a short list of nominees for the regional leader of the EPA.

that's a very brief (and probably not 100% accurate) depiction, I am scrambling to think of all he did in public service.

I took the news pretty hard yesterday, not due to our personal relationship, but because he was such a good person and it's a travesty when good folks are taken early. he has two boys ages 19 and 21. he has a wonderful wife. his political career was waiting to emerge.
I drove high into the hills until I found a view of the city and the ocean where i could watch the sunset and quietly pay respects to a great person. as i watched I thought the sun set much quicker than usual yesterday. it didn't make it any less beautiful, in fact, it was almost aware of its early departure and to make amends it left the sky emblazened in amazing colors that seemed to linger well into the night.