Closing one door only to find another open

I had previously blogged about letting someone (outside of my family) read my manuscript. The first person that I let read my manuscript was Tommy. I work as a bartender on the weekends and Tommy was one of my regulars. I have to say that I adored Tommy although some didn't like him. Please let me explain a few things about Tommy...I believe Tommy was 74 years old. He was very intelligent. He knew more things than I thought any one person could remember. He was all about the facts. He was very realistic and to be honest, I didn't even think that Tommy would enjoy anything that was fiction.
I'm always telling my bar buddies about my writing and there's always some great fun in the teasing about it. To my big surprise, one day, out of the blue, Tommy asked if he could read some of my work. I was shocked and took it one step further. I asked him if he'd honor me by doing a little bit of editing on it for me. He accepted and I printed a copy out for him.
The next week he came in and throw the manuscript on the bar and said..."damn it, Amy, I had to read that damn thing twice". I was surprised and I braced myself for the worse. I can't even begin to tell you how low I was sinking in that one little instance. I thought for sure that he hated it. I braced for it and asked, "well Tommy, why did you have to read it twice?" He responded with, "the first time I read it I got interested so I had to go and do the editing after I read it the first time." Not only was I relived but I was so excited that he liked it. It meant the world to me that Tommy liked my story so much that it grabbed his attention and got him to really read. I took that as a great complement.
I tell you this sorry because we have lost Tommy but I wanted you to know how much he touched me. It was only a small thing but I adored him. He will be missed but he also knows that I'll keep him close to my heart and remember the fun that we had.
I also tell you this because last week, the day after I found out about Tommy's passing...I put a few submissions to a few different agencies. That was Friday. Monday morning I received a request for the entire manuscript. I have high hopes but it was the courage that I got from thinking about Tommy and his reaction to my writing that gave me the nerves to hit that send button.
Tommy...thank you...