Image by Photorama from Pixabay
Randy’s Story
We both heard the charging dog bark at us, but what happened next is why I grew up wanting to be like him.
Randy stood his ground prepared to kick whatever came out of the darkness in an attempt to defend himself, while I turned to run. A distant voice halted the dog’s attack and neither of us were hurt but the intention of our choices was inescapable. Randy never made me feel bad for my choice and the memory of that night wandered into the vault of untold distant memories of childhood friends as we walked in the darkness back to our campsite.
Our Mode of Transportation
I met Randy when his family moved down the street from us. There was an established group of kids in the neighborhood but I drifted towards Randy. Maybe it was because he was confident and outgoing. I was shy and insecure and his strength bolstered my own confidence. The fact that our birthdays were only 6 days apart solidified our friendship. We were the same age and Randy felt more like a brother than a friend.
Bicycles were our mode of transportation. We explored the city far and wide on those magnificent two-wheeled inventions. It was a time in the world when two young boys could go miles from home as they explored their surroundings and life.
Our longest ride was over 20 miles. At our request and with our parent’s permission, Randy’s dad put our bikes in the back of his truck and took us to Cave Creek. I grumbled at the effort it took to get back home, but how I miss those days.
Diagnosed with Diabetes
The freedoms we enjoyed afforded us the opportunity for a little mischief that included many rolls of toilet paper and not a few firecrackers. Fortunately, no one was hurt by our antics.
We constantly drank Pepsi and ate bags of M & M’s. It was not uncommon to see us outside the grocery store, leaning against the wall and refreshing ourselves with this favorite combination, our bikes standing ready to bear us at our command. At least until Randy was diagnosed with Diabetes.
As a teenager, Randy was found in a diabetic coma, laying on the floor in his family’s living room. He would have to give himself injections for the rest of his life.
A Different World
Growing up in Phoenix, the hot summers kindled a passion for swimming. Randy’s family had a pool and that helped fuel our obsession. Twice we went skinny dipping and were caught both times. Once by his mother as we swam naked in his family’s pool. The other time was swimming sans suit in his uncle’s pool, we were spied by two neighbor girls.
As we graduated from riding bicycles to driving vehicles and with endless miles of desert just outside of Phoenix, our world opened even more.
Plinking with our .22’s was a favorite pastime and the long open miles of desert gave us new freedoms. A couple of times we even took our rifles out, just wandering the desert, testing our aim and ability to inflict damage on inanimate objects. It was a different world back then.
Feeding Time
Randy and I hunted quail, dove and rabbits in that desert together. We didn’t always find the tender meat we were looking for, but one day we did find a hawk’s nest with two babies inside. Randy brought one home and raised it. What a sight it was to see that hawk sitting calmly at the top of a telephone pole outside the back of Randy’s house, the sparrows and other little birds flying around, clearly agitated.
Feeding time was a piece of chicken that Randy waved around until the bird flew down to receive it. Randy would throw the meat into the air and the hawk grabbed it mid-flight, returning to his perch on the telephone pole while he ate it. Eventually, the bird flew away.
Kicked in the Head
I couldn’t always be like Randy. Randy didn’t like cats and once purposely ran over a cat. I love cats and his actions really hurt me.
Another time after turkey hunting, Randy pushed the limits of speed and safety in his desire to get home quickly. I was upset at his reckless driving, but even though I had one or two near-death experiences on that ride home, his reckless driving came in handy on a different occasion.
I was 16 and got beaten up because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Randy wasn’t with me that night and I suffered a broken jaw as a result of my beating. The doctor said only being kicked in the head would have caused the bone to break as it did. My jaw was wired shut for 6 weeks while it healed.
Randy came to my rescue. He knew I needed uplifting, so one night we went out in his Bronco. It didn’t take long to find some open desert we could drive in. We recklessly raced around the desert in the darkness with only the light of his KC Daylighters and headlights showing us the way.
Occasionally, a rabbit was spooked and we chased that critter at full speed, doing brodies as necessary to keep it in our sight. I don’t know what was more painful, the bouncing and jostling of being off-road with a broken jaw while chasing rabbits or laughing at seeing the rabbits in our headlights as they raced to get away.
Pool Party
No best friend story is complete without losing a girlfriend. When Randy wooed Allison away from me, it hurt. Our relationship was hurt. But it was only a matter of time before I realized the love of a best friend was more important to me than the love of a girlfriend. In my heart I knew that Randy was very outgoing while I was shy. I tried not to blame Allison for being attracted to him.
Just before we turned 18, I was leaving for Alaska. Randy threw me a going away pool party. It wasn’t a big party but that is what made it special. There was a girl there that I didn’t know, but we connected. I don’t remember what we talked about, but it was genuine and I never forgot it. I can still dimly see her face.
There would be some return visits that allowed us the chance to explore and push the boundaries of life a few more times before the call of adulthood would get in the way and separate us. As adults, we didn’t need to talk or visit all the time. We already knew each other through a relationship that tested our bond and blessed our memories.
Relentless Adulthood
How do you sum up the relationship of a best friend? Best friends can be separated by the distance of life but your hearts are never parted. A relationship built on the shared experiences of childhood is what binds these hearts together so that no matter how many years between visits or conversations, nothing can remove or hide that friendship. It is the treasure of a childhood bond and is as vibrant as a childhood dream. A childhood friend is the best of our hopes and dreams and it abides in a childlike faith that you are more one being than two. It is before the days of adulthood when reality sets in and says, not so fast, you have work to do and it’s not so glamorous as you might have imagined.
No matter how relentless adulthood is, the treasure of childhood best friends and their memories remains untarnished. In fact, those days become dearer because we realize as adults just how special they truly were.
Wait in Wonder
Randy passed away on March 11th, 2015. We spoke the week before his death. It was the first time in our relationship that we discussed faith in God. How could I know it was to be the last time we would speak in this life?
Although I sum up our memories, they won’t be as significant to you. But I share my memories as much to say that Randy was here, that he was part of my life and now the veil of this life has been removed for him just as it will be, one day, for you and I.
This life is temporary. God created this life to bless us in fellowship with Him. One of the treasures He has bestowed on us is the gift of best friends. Best friends are an earthly reminder of a Heavenly relationship with Jesus Christ. He testifies of the best He has to offer through life’s most beautiful memories.
In Heaven there will be nothing but cherished times of treasured relationships with each other and with the God who created us.
I miss my friend. We may not have talked all that much as adults, but now we will never be able to reminisce about the good old days. He was such a significant part of my life it is hard to believe that he has stepped from this life to the next. He has entered the world that is not seen. Now I must wait in wonder at what he has discovered until that veil is removed for me.