Garrard is the kind of person who is always ready with a joke, a smile, a word of encouragement.  If there was a more ambitious, positive, energetic person in the newsroom, I never met them.  When CLTV was headquarted out in Oakbrook, Garrard and I would often commiserate about our commutes.  He would moan and groan about the Dan Ryan or the Stevenson, and I would counter with my woes of the IKE.  If we weren't talking traffic, Garrard would mention that he saw me filling in on WGN, and let me know that he was supporting my career from afar.  When I think about those brief conversations now, I think how superficial it seems, considering the weight of what he and his famiily are dealing with.  

Yet I also had another thought -- even though I was merely a colleague of Garrard's, and didn't know him outside of the office, he still was able to leave such an impact on me with his personality.  This is what I'm realizing today, that all of us have the power to be a positive force in people's lives, even if we aren't conscious of it.  I think that whenever a senseless, violent crime strikes Chicagoland, we all pause to think how disgusting it is.  However, when violence and evil comes in contact with someone like Garrard, it seems even more sick and pointless.