R.I.P. Tony

Over the weekend an old friend of mine from grade school and up was killed in a random shooting in our hometown. Tony was one of the kindest, sweetest people you could ever meet and had a wife of 15 years and two kids. And then, in one random moment, he was gone.

I hadn't seen Tony in quite awhile and yet this sudden loss has been really jarring to me. Initially I thought I was OK - I mean, obviously, I was very, very sad, but at first no tears were shed. Apparently I was just storing them up.

I remember watching Tony play basketball in Junior High. He was at a different school, but I had such a huge crush on him. I'd look forward to anytime we played against his school so that I could watch him play ball. He had this amazing smile which just melted you to the core.

The oldest picture I could find of us together was our second grade class picture. Can you find us?

Here, I'll make it easier. I'm on the left above and Tony is on the right (my friend Jody is in the middle). My heart is broken for his family and I'm equally saddened to learn about shooting in our small town. From what I understand, Tony was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Thank you, Tony, for your friendship and for always being such a great guy. You were so loved and will be so missed by everyone around you. R.I.P. my friend.