Bad news about an old friend

[Mike P]

Brad, the Hawg Hunter man, just called me with some bad news about an old friend our ours, as well as Roland and Sherry. Apparently, our old friend from our "Leper Colony" days at the Canal, Robert "Huff" Langley, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly, far too young at the tender age of 46. Brad doesn't know a lot of the details yet, but it seems he went suddenly and painlessly from a brain aneurism. Our prayers and thoughts should go out to his widow, Charlene, and his many friends from the Canal. The Huffer, as he was known, was a scraggly looking guy but possessed a heart of gold, and shared his fishing knowledge and company freely with veterans and rookies alike. We spent many fun times at the Canal and the Vineyard with Huff and we'll all miss him terribly.

Life is precious and too short--live it to the fullest and rejoice in it.

[JohnR]

Mike, I will pass that news along and say an extra prayer tonight line in the water...

[Mike P]

Just a little more news, Huff had some neck pains yesterday and collapsed at home suddenly. The ambulance took him to Tobey Hospital in Wareham, from where he was Med-evaced to a major trauma center in Boston. Unfortunately, the damage was extensive and he passed.

There will be a wake at the Nickerson-Bourne funeral home Tuesday evening and Wednesday, from what Brad later told me. The funeral parlor is on Rte 28 (MacArthur Blvd) across the bridge, heading towards Otis. I understand there will be an impromptu gathering in Huff's memory next Saturday, along the Canal banks at the place he spent most of his time, behind the post office at pole #355. That's where he held court and that's where most of our fond memories revolve around.

I'm not sure about funeral arrangements and whether there will be any public service--I understand that Huff's wishes were that he be cremated.

Hi MikeP, passed the news on to Roland and Sherry, sorry to hear about your loss. Its hard to lose those great fishing buddies. Best regards.

Fisherwoman and Baitcaster

[Saltheart]

Sorry to hear about the lose of your friend Mike. So young too. Sorry for your lose.

I have known Huff for 25+ years and I haven"t stopped crying guys. He had a heart of gold and me and my family miss him dearly.

[Squidmama]

Mike, I can't stop crying about Huff. Roland is very upset. He's known him for years, as you know. We still can't believe it. He will be missed so much.
How are you feeling?

Squidmama
(Sherry)

[Mike P]

Hi, Sherry and Tony--I don't go back as far with Huff as Tony and Roland do, but he's been a friend for almost 20 years now, helped me out a lot on many occasions. The memories of the weekends at Playland will always be with us, we had us some great times when we were young and foolish. Sometime this summer, we should arrange to meet somewhere along the Ditch and have a beer or two and reminisce--the stories, oh, the stories!!! Unfortunately, I won't be able to make either the wake or the informal memorial next Saturday, but whenever I stand out on the big rock in front of the sign there, I'll feel Huff close by.

Hey Tony, good to see ya' on the net. Hope everything is well. We haven't seen that much of each other recently, but I'll be at the Canal at least twice this summer, maybe more.

Sherry, I am feeling much better, I'd say I'm about 75% back to my old self. I went to the beach today with the family and tried a few casts, no pain, no strain. I might go fishing for real later tonight, but I'm not up to scrambling on rocks yet, this will be some light bay fishing.

Thanks to all for your expressions of sympathy--as many have said, Huff had a rough edge or two but he had a heart of gold, and there are a lot of people who feel his loss. We fell a little out of touch in recent years as my family and job demands cut into my Canal time and our old meeting ground was barricaded to cars--but there was still that week at the Vineyard where we hung out and fished. It's still hard to accept that he's gone.