Dear Friends - Tom Schaefer Died In Reynosa, Mexico Today

Tom Schaefer 02.14.1977 - 04.25.2006
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Tom died today around 1:20pm. He was 29.
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I was a very good friend of Tom Schaefer. I was in McAllen, Texas with Tom since Sunday on photo assignment for his employer. Tom was one of my best friends and I wanted to let his other friends know what has happened to him in a way I think he would have appreciated. Tom really enjoyed writing on his blog and I, like many of his other friends enjoyed reading it. I had Tom's passcodes for this blog since he posted regularly at my home and I thought it appropriate to pass on this unfortunate news to his other friends who frequent this blog.
After finishing up our assignment here in McAllen, we decided to go across the border into Mexico to have a few beers and see the local 'flavor' as Tom put it. Tom said he had never been to Mexico before and was very excited about the idea. After we crossed the Rio Grande and walked pass the central square we ventured into a few tourists shops, one of which Tom purchased a set of four plaster-cast SpiderMan figures. He was really excited about them and was telling me about his love for the charactor since he was a child. He was planning on doing a series of work based on the comic book charactor, but he explained to me that he never had a good base to start the work. He believed finding these plaster figures was the key. He was in a really great mood. After leaving the shopping district we decided to get a beer. We walked a few blocks and when crossing a busy intersection, out of no where, Tom was hit by a fast moving bus. I tried to reach out for him at the last second, but it was too late. I ran up the street to where Tom was, but my friend was already gone.
This situation is still really hard for me to believe. My friend is gone. I'm not a writer and I don't think this is even a situation for good writing, I just wanted his friends to know this tragic news and I thought this would be a good way for everyone to know. I'll miss my friend.