At 10:09 PM on June 6th of 2022, I received a long email from a guy named Wade Cates.  At 11:15 PM, I woke up, read the email, and told him to call me if he was still awake. We spoke the next day.

Wade is a former Marine NCO, he drives a semi-truck for a living… hauling a lot of steel between Jackson, Tennessee, Birmingham, Alabama, and Savannah, Georgia. He is rightly proud of his beautiful family and more than loves a good cigar.

The story that you will hear Wade tell is not an easy one to listen to; it’s the story of Juan’s suicide and just some of what his family has dealt with in the aftermath. But in that story, I know you will hear Wade’s depth, his resolve to exit the Valley of the Shadow of Death with his family and ultimately live a great life.

I am proud to call him my friend.