called a friend as it'd been a while since we hanged out

asked him how he was - 'OK'

asked him if he was enjoying the nice weather - 'not really'

asked him if everyhting was OK - 'no, my dad died a couple weeks ago'

felt really bad, didn't know what to say. offered my sympathies etc

asked him if it was unexpected (his dad had bowel issues apparently) - 'not really, he killed himself'

FUCKING HELL, maaaaaan. what the hell are you supposed to say to that?

talked about FM Transmitters for a little bit then I made my excuses and terminated the call.

probably the worst telephone call I've had for a long time

any other examples?

as an aside, what a tragedy, huh? crazy shit