Monday, December 26, 2005

Rick M. Pt 2...

Rick M. Pt 2...
Once again when Rick and I were 17 and 18, we were at my apartment
talking. He'd been telling me of yet another incident, a fight.
I said, " Rick, you always pick door number 2."
"Whadya mean?"
" Door number 1 is a non-violent solution to a problem, and door number 2 is this... "
And with that I punched the palm of my hand with my fist. He got it.
" Door number 2 is the violent solution to a problem. You always pick door number 2."

He laughed good naturedly, he knew I was right. " I DO always pick door number 2, don't I?"

Looking back now, at the way things turned out, I almost think that was some sort a personal revelation for Rick.
I remember walking through Serra Mesa after that, walking downhill, and seeing Rick coming from the opposite direction, up- hill.
He's huffing and puffing, he has a pretty blonde girl with him. He's carrying the pretty blonde girl piggy-back, while running.
" Hey! What's up?"
" Huh-huh-huh-huh.....training for bootcamp. I'm getting my record exspunged, and I'm going into the Marines."
" WOW! Well hey, good luck!"
This was actually around the time I lost contact with Rick for awhile. This was also before the Gulf War.He DID in fact get his juvenile record exspunged, did whatever he needed to do, and joined the Marines. Much later, years later, I ran into Rick.
I was married, it felt like a lifetime later. Rick had a crewcut, gone were the pretty brown curls. But he looked good, healthy. He'd just gotten back from the Persian Gulf, as a Medic. Something he said to me was very telling, very interesting to me. " You know, Lisa? It's easier to kill people than it is
to help them to live."
I was very proud of Rick for cleaning his act up, and I said so. We had him over for dinner, a couple of different times. Rick became a conservative Republican, die-hard Bush supporter, the whole nine yards.After he got out of the military he became a Reservist, so he was still technically in. I called him on Veteran's Day once, and thanked him for fighting for us. It meant a lot to him, and it was the closest I think I'd ever heard him get to being choked up, truly unguarded.Even then he was hard.

I've been thinking of Rick a lot lately, because I think I know where he is right now, and I hope he's ok. He's in very good physical shape, had previously been a Medic over there. You can't tell me they didn't want him.If I believed in God I'd pray for him. As it is I am sending thoughts and wishes for him to be safe, wherever he is.
But I can tell you this : When it comes to fighting in the name of the U.S.(regardless of your beliefs about the war), Rick is the perfect guy for the job, I can't imagine anyone more suitable. And he believed in what he was doing, he wanted to be over there. Especially after 9/11. Like I said, I sure hope he's ok, wherever he is.

5 Comments:

Blogger Anne-Marie said...

Hi Lisa,
Maybe you should call Rick and let him know that he's been on your mind. There's something sweet about reconnecting with old friends, and the new year is always a good time to start things fresh.

I loved your storytelling about him. Ever think of writing more seriously?

Cheers,
AM

6:50 AM  
Blogger Nabonidus said...

I wish I could call him, Anne-Marie,
I think that's why I wrote about him.
I'm sorry we lost touch, it was the kind of thing that just happened, you
know?

And thanks for the writing compliments. I've thought about writing more seriously, but I don't know where to start. And also writing is difficult.It flows out of me, but it can be really painful. And it seems that the better I write, the more painful it happens to be. Maybe I should think about it, though.Thanks for being here,
you know it means a lot! xoxoLisa

7:26 AM  
Blogger JoeBoy said...

No matter where Rick is, I am sure he is OK. I bet he thinks of you daily.
Thanks for sharing this. You write very well.

10:23 AM  
Blogger Gary said...

That's a lovely piece of writing there Lisa. I think our Men and Women in uniform are the salt of the earth. I get choked up thinking about what they are doing for us on a daily basis.

I hope your friend is ok. I'm sure he would be quite touched reading that.

Hope you are well.

7:30 PM  
Blogger Nabonidus said...

Thanks, Gary and Joeboy, your words mean a lot. And I'm touched to hear of your devotion to our people in the military, Gary. It's beautiful, and brought tears to my eyes just reading it. :)
I need to go over to your blogs!
xoxoLisa

7:57 AM  

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