Friday, August 19, 2016

Sad Day




This is a sad day.  Sad because once again mental illness has raised it's ugly head and taken another senseless life.
This is my friend Ric. Today people will gather to talk about how wonderful he was.  What a great father, grandfather, friend, companion and co-worker he was.  Too bad it is because he is gone.
I want to share a bit about my friend.  And what I am about to say may surprise some people.
Ric and I worked together at Carter BloodCare.  He called me his "go to girl".  He was the manager over facilities and when we built our new location we spent a great deal of time together.  In fact I think my office was his first stopping place after arriving in our offices.
We used to talk about so many different subjects.  And laugh?  Boy did we laugh!
Ric loved my nails.  He loved my nail art.  When he came into my office one of the first things he would check and see was what was on my nails and toes.  The time I had a nail artist paint images of the Broadway play "Wicked" on my toes he even got on his knees to check them out closer.
We shared a love of '70s rock music.  Ric loved going to concerts and seeing all the old bands play.  Santana, Aerosmith, Doobie Brothers...he saw just about all of them.  I loved Heart and had told him it was on my "bucket list" to see them.
One day I get an email from him showing Heart playing in Dallas. I told him I was interested but would have to see about purchasing tickets later due to budgeting.  He insisted on getting them for us and said "we could work out the details after payday".  Well payday came and went.  And Ric refused to let me pay for those tickets.  Each ticket was about $110 each so we are looking at over $200.  Nothing I could do would change his mind.  He was paying for the tickets.


This is a picture of my husband and I at the concert.  It was the best concert I have ever seen.  I think I surprised Ric with how much fun I had.  I was out of my wheelchair dancing more than I was in it.
This is the best pic I have of Ric, his girl friend Karen and myself at the concert.  I honestly think Ric enjoyed the concert more because of how much I enjoyed it.  The twinkle in his eye was so fun!  It was a night I will never forget.  And it came at a time in my life where I was experiencing some life changing medical issues.  He did more for me with those tickets than I think he ever knew.
I did these nails in memory of that concert and of Ric.  I used the same colors I used the night of the concert, OPI Teal the Chics Come Home and OPI Unfrost My Heart.  They matched my blouse perfectly.  I thought the heart stenciling was appropriate in honor of the band Heart.
I think Ric would have been pleased.
Be kind to each other.  Never forget to tell those you love that you do indeed love them.  You never know when the last moment with them will be your last moment. 
I miss my friend.
Now wipe those tears and go paint your nails.
Donna

3 comments:

  1. So sorry for your loss 💔💔💔 Sounds like he was a wonderful guy!

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  2. I know I'm late but I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your friend. That was so sweet of him to get those tickets for you. He sounded like a very nice person. Prayers for you and his family. The mani you did to honor him is beautiful.

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  3. Sorry for your loss. Beautiful post and mani. 💞

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