Mitch Michaels

I don't pretend to know Mitch that well. I've spoken to him on the phone a handful of times (interviewed him for Chicago Radio Spotlight), and met him in person a couple of times. He also provided a blurb for one of our books ("Cheeseland" by Randy Richardson). Each time I spoke to him, the subject of kids came up. He was very proud of his children.

When I saw this note on his facebook page yesterday, I knew something was terribly wrong: ".....I have lost part of my heart and part of my soul.....and I know I will never be the same again....."

I kept checking back all day to find out what happened, and it was even worse than I feared. His son Spencer, only 21 years old, passed away suddenly yesterday. That's about as gut-wrenching as it gets.

The family has set up a GoFundme page to help offset the funeral costs.

I contributed to it yesterday evening. If you can find it in your hearts to contribute as well, it might help a little bit.

This is one of those staggering things that is so unspeakably sad, it's hard to wrap your head around it. I just hope that Mitch and his family can find some peace and comfort.