As a hunter, I am intimately familiar with death and the cycle of life. I am usually able to find some peace and understanding when someone I know passes, realizing that a season isn’t a season if it never ends; a living thing isn’t living if it doesn’t die. But a recent loss caught me off guard and took me for a spin.
A good pal of mine, Jeremy Haberman, passed last week of lung cancer. He was 42 years old and a non-smoker. Jeremy was a beautiful person with a pure love for music and his friends and his family. He could have been a big time LA or NYC club agent, but Jeremy loved Detroit. He loved a Coney Island; he loved the Tigers and the Lions.
As the owner of the Magic Bag, Jeremy became known as the upcoming music aficionado in the D and everyone played the Bag! Jeremy made it cool to play a small club in Ferndale. He had a timeless cool, loaded with focus, grit, and a certain prestige and pride that Haberman possessed.
His funeral was a tear-filled celebration of love and a life ended too soon. The eulogy, delivered by his brother Dan, was one of the most moving speeches I’ve been fortunate to witness; his words described a relationship beyond brothers, they were best friends and shared an enviable connection. Dan gave the crowd a glimpse behind the curtain, made us laugh and cry and shared his brother selflessly in those moments.
I grew up observing the Haberman family with a mixture of confusion and joy. I have yet to meet another family so tightly knit, so closely bound, always there for one another, completely full of love and yet not suffocating. His parents, Sam and Toby Haberman, set an example I can only hope to emulate.
All of this serves as a reminder that life is precious and every moment is an opportunity to live it to the fullest. We don’t have any control over when our lives will end, but we can spend every moment living a life of joy and service, of love and family; hunting down the experiences that give our lives meaning and value. I vowed then and there to take my kids hunting more, say the things I don’t say to my wife, to my friends that matter, to my family, and be there for those who need me.
What can you take away from Jeremy Haberman? How can you use this wonderful, all-too-short life and lesson to help you become the hunter you are meant to be? I plan to start by cranking some old music, breaking out a glass of wine and toasting to my man. Then I will start calling the people I love. I have a lot of work to do, how about you?
