Throwback...Wednesday: "To: Alex"

Monday, March 28th marked six years since one of the best people I have ever known left this world for the next. I still miss him. Here's what I wrote six years ago today.

Originally posted on Facebook as "To: Alex" March 30, 2010
To: Alex
Flamin' Joe's runs, pool nights, going to the casino to eat at 1 am, and a million other things we did. The long chats about women, good beer, cigars, the good old days of football, what we were gonna do with our lives, and what God had been teaching us...yeah, gonna miss those. I didn't even realize how much you had touched my life until I drove to town today and realized almost every place I looked I had a memory with you there, and I could hear your voice making wise cracks the whole way. Life just won't be the same without you, man.

 I want to thank you for being the friend you were. No matter what was going on in either of our lives, I knew I could turn to you when I needed someone to listen, bounce an idea off of, or just BS with. You always had an open ear, and an open mind. People like that don't just happen along every day. I'm sorry I never made it a point to say any of this while you were here...wow, I dropped the ball. I wasn't always the friend I should have been, I said things I shouldn't have, and kept quite when I should have opened my mouth. But ya put up with me anyway, and I thank you for that. You were always there, always caring, always understanding. I wish I had been the same to you, I'm gonna take a cue from your play book there and try to live that out in my other friendships. This world needs more people who care.

 One other thing I want to thank you for, that really hit me tonight. Thank you for being a wise-ass. I got to thinking the first time I got up to give a message/testimony as WWR, and I was petrified and had no idea what to say when you piped up "why don't ya start with your name"...despite the fact that everyone in the room knew me...totally got rid of the nerves, and ever since preaching has been a passion of mine, I really feel it's where God's leading me...and I would still be scared to death and afraid to try it again if you hadn't been you and helped me relax. That single, seemingly stupid moment, may very well have changed my whole life. I owe ya. Well, for that and a million other things.

 I could ramble on for days, but your attention span is too short to read much more so I'll sum it up with the simple fact that I'm gonna miss you. Like freakin crazy. I love and care for you as much as I ever have for anyone, and I just thank God that He gave me the chance to know, even for a little while. Yeah, the pain is horrible...but the memories were worth it. I love you man. Peace.

Will

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