Remembering Randy
Nearly two years ago a good friend passed away far too early. Today I am taking the time to remember him and to remind myself to try to be a bit more like him - our world is lacking from not hearing his laughter, not seeing his smile and not laughing at ourselves when he made fun. He used to call me The Swedish Meatball - I bear that nick-name with pride.
When I think of Randy the first thing I see is his smile. It is a big smile and it kind of lights up the room he is in or the volleyball court he is on. Then I hear him laughing, or maybe he is giggling, and it is quite contagious. Laughing comes easy whenever Randy is around.
Randy cares about people and about animals, especially dogs. I feel warmth in a room when Randy is there because he genuinely cares about the people in that room. He is an easy-going guy who doesn’t spend time on judging people or second guessing, he accepts people for who they are and he takes the bad with the good when it comes to his friends.
I first met Randy and Shauna when playing volleyball at a Toronto community centre back in 1997. It was easy to talk to them and easy to play volleyball with them. Turned out we lived in the same high-rise! When I hosted my first “glögg party” in December that year they lent me folding chairs, gave me an arm-less teddy bear (that I still have) for the Christmas tree, had baked funky looking gingerbread men and women, and they showed up to join the party even after working a late shift. Over the years, they showed up late at many parties, often coming almost straight from work. Great to have friends who prioritize socializing over resting after work!
Randy likes to play games. Not the kind of mind-games that many play in Toronto, but good old games like croquet, cards or even the Viking game of Kubb. Of course, if a person showed too much competitive edge and had to win, a game of croquet could quickly turn into “killer croquet” with the new purpose of the game being to prevent the competitive one winning (at almost any cost). Of course, all games Randy played were played with a big smile on his face and lots of laughing.
Many of us were lucky to be friends of Randy’s. I don’t think he had acquaintances; he had friends and many of them. Now that Randy is no longer among us and can brighten up the day, we all have to take our responsibility to be a bit more easy-going, to smile more often and to laugh with friends, to laugh at ourselves and others (in a kind, compassionate way) when we do silly things, just like Randy did.
The best way to remember Randy is to be a bit more like Randy: caring, easy-going, smiling, and laughing.
Randy cares about people and about animals, especially dogs. I feel warmth in a room when Randy is there because he genuinely cares about the people in that room. He is an easy-going guy who doesn’t spend time on judging people or second guessing, he accepts people for who they are and he takes the bad with the good when it comes to his friends.
I first met Randy and Shauna when playing volleyball at a Toronto community centre back in 1997. It was easy to talk to them and easy to play volleyball with them. Turned out we lived in the same high-rise! When I hosted my first “glögg party” in December that year they lent me folding chairs, gave me an arm-less teddy bear (that I still have) for the Christmas tree, had baked funky looking gingerbread men and women, and they showed up to join the party even after working a late shift. Over the years, they showed up late at many parties, often coming almost straight from work. Great to have friends who prioritize socializing over resting after work!
Randy likes to play games. Not the kind of mind-games that many play in Toronto, but good old games like croquet, cards or even the Viking game of Kubb. Of course, if a person showed too much competitive edge and had to win, a game of croquet could quickly turn into “killer croquet” with the new purpose of the game being to prevent the competitive one winning (at almost any cost). Of course, all games Randy played were played with a big smile on his face and lots of laughing.
Many of us were lucky to be friends of Randy’s. I don’t think he had acquaintances; he had friends and many of them. Now that Randy is no longer among us and can brighten up the day, we all have to take our responsibility to be a bit more easy-going, to smile more often and to laugh with friends, to laugh at ourselves and others (in a kind, compassionate way) when we do silly things, just like Randy did.
The best way to remember Randy is to be a bit more like Randy: caring, easy-going, smiling, and laughing.
posted by mondopod at 4:13 PM
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