Burning the Candle......

...at both ends. Today I found out that a good friend of mine passed away. Richard was born and raised in Sylva, NC. I first met Richard in 2004 on a trip to Slyva with the the twins, Mike and Jake Scott. I walked into his house and was immediately hit with the a blast double (a wrestling take down), and knocked into the screen door and down the steps of the trailer house with a little dog barking and chasing after us. The twins just stood there and laughed. I thought to myself as I rolled out the door, "this kid is nuts", and he was. Through the twins I I would keep up with Richard over the years. For his senior project in high school he trained to be a mixed martial artist and did a sanctioned cage fight up in Ohio. Richard was chiseled from Stone.
Richard was also extremely well read, and was a stunning conversationalist, something that is rarely found in this day and age. He could swear like a sailor in one breath, and be incredibly articulate and well spoken in the next. Such was the duality of Richard.
After school he did what a lot of poor southern kids do, he joined the Army. In hind sight it probably saved his life initially. During his first tour in Iraq in late 05 he collapsed, and was flown back to Walter Reed to be diagnosed with Brain Cancer. He went through treatment (surgery and chemo), and we were told that his cancer was in remission. The last time I saw him was when Mikey was getting back from Alaska, and as soon as I walked in the door he tried to ankle pick me. He was bald and pale looking but he still wanted to wrestle. He was always positive, and was the kind of chap that you wanted in your corner when things were hairy.
I do not attend funerals, or usually talk about death and dying but i think it is important to remember friend as they were and celebrate the impact that they had on the world. He was a lot of things in life, but no one can dispute that he was a great friend to all those around him.
Heres to Richard.....