I'd known Patrick through our mutual friend Michael, who's an independent journalist and travels a lot to the Middle East and other places. Patrick went to Iraq to research Saddam's atrocities against the civilian population. He'd also served in the Navy (regular and reserve) and worked with nuclear materials - which I guess caught up with him later.
I can picture Patrick as if he's sitting across from me right now, in his trademark Seattle sombrero and mustache. But he's on another journey now and won't be back.