Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Q: How did you meet Rence?
A: I was in the 5th (or possibly 6th) grade at North Elementary and on my way to the gym for P.E. when I saw an old 1960's model, primer gray, Ford van pull up out front. I saw a curly, dark-haired boy with glasses getting out of it that I had never seen before, so of course, it caught my attention. A few minutes later, the boy came walking into the gym and right out onto the floor next to me, where we were in a serious game of dodge ball. After about a minute or so, the boy says to me in his strange Arizona accent, "You've got some serious moves !". I was the very first friend of many he made after moving here from Arizona, and we were inseparable at that point ! We became best friends, more like brothers, for the next 5 years until I moved off the mountain in the 10th grade. I spent nearly every weekend and pretty much my entire summers at his house over this period of time. There are so many stories that I could tell due to having so many great and vivid memories of this crucial period of my life when we were just boys slowly transitioning into young men. There are so many crucial life lessons learned, so many adventures, and so many laughs I shared with him. He played such a crucial role and filled such a void he could never fully comprehend during a very difficult time of my life, and he will forever hold a special place in my heart. Goodbye my ole friend...