Thursday, May 14, 2015

Thanks Randy.

My brother James recently brought me some items that he found from my childhood. One such item was a paper wallet. Remember them? As kids, we used to make them back in the '80s and '90s. Unfortunately, I never had the dexterity with my hands to make them correctly. No matter how many times I'd try, I just never could get it right. Thankfully, my good friend Randy made one for me in third grade (1990-1991). This is it...



The things Randy wrote on this are enough to date it to the period. "Be rad like me" and "super cool radical dude" sure aren't phrases you'll hear come out the mouths of today's Millennials. He also gave me the code name "Mango", which I don't quite recall the origin of.

No relation to this Mango, which came many years later.

There's also a really cool iguana-type lizard on the side, as well as a secret code number -- 676 (which happens to be the prefix for Kenbridge, where we went to school). We never actually used the code for anything, it just looked neat.

Randy was a great guy who always looked out for me. As we grew older, he was always genuine and jovial, even though he hung out with a different crowd than I did (did I even have a crowd?). He knew how to make anyone laugh and was never a jerk. Unfortunately, Randy is no longer with us, but I do think about our childhood together. He is sorely missed. It's always great to find a little piece of your past, especially when it's something you thought was lost forever. I'm glad this relic has somehow survived for twenty-four years without winding up in a trash heap. It feels comforting to have something Randy touched. In a way, he's still with me.

Randy, wherever you are... thanks.

Randy is in the second row from the top, towards the left with the Bart Simpson shirt. Around that time, 'The Simpsons' were in their second season and had become a massive cultural phenomenon. I can recall Randy quoting Bart many times -- "Don't have a cow, man!" I'm on the right in the tie. Yes... I was the only kid who showed up in a tie for picture day. I guess I've always been a fastidious, scholarly knob!

If you're in the photo, feel free to share this blog. I know some of you will probably read this. Isn't it swell to see old photos of us?

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