Semper Fi, Buddy

addper Fi, Buddy

I don't believe that I saw Ricky Williams again after June 4, 1982.

Ricky was the first friend I made when I started going to school in Monticello, Fla. He and I rode the bus to school together (Madge Shelly drove that bus), we played together, we fought together, we went to church together (rode a bus that Gene Sculley drove to church), we were in Royal Rangers together, we traded baseball cards, we did everything together that boys usually do.

Ricky taught me to love baseball, although we cheered for different teams. He was a Reds fan. I was a Dodgers fan. We were in fifth grade when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record. I saw it on Channel 10 in Albany, Ga. and Ricky (who also watched it) and I talked about it the next day. Ricky taught me to play "thumps" and "b.b. bush" (both very painful games).

Ricky had two beautiful older sisters and I had two cute younger sisters. I had kind of a schoolboy crush on Ricky's sister, Becky, but she was a few years older. I think she may have been in ninth grade when I was in fifth.

In high school, Ricky and I drifted apart, but he was always my friend. He was the strong, athletic type. I was the nerd. He was a lineman on the high school football team and was in FFA. I was on the Brain Bowl team and the newspaper editor. We just started hanging around other friends.

On June 4, 1982, Ricky and I graduated high school and went our separate ways. After high school, I went to North Florida Junior College, then Florida State University, then out into the workforce. Ricky served his country proudly as a member of the United States Marine Corps. After the Marines, Ricky began working at FSU. He married his beautiful high school sweetheart. I remained single.

Ricky left this world on Monday, August 10, 2009. I am proud to have called Ricky friend. I miss him.

I know that, no matter how much I miss Ricky right now, it cannot compare to how much his wife, Pam, (who began dating Ricky when she was 15 and he was 17 and called him the love of her life), their kids and grandkids miss him. But I know, and I encourage Pam and the family to know that God can do all things and He will lift them up.

Semper fi, buddy. I love you.