RANDOM MATTERS & Biblical Inspiration : REMEMBERING SIR RICHARD BYLE (RICK)

Monday, March 10, 2014

REMEMBERING SIR RICHARD BYLE (RICK)

RICK was a friend of mine from elementary school (Seymour Christian, Grand Rapids) thru Milbrook Junior High & Grand Rapids Christian High...and even beyond...we went to different colleges but stayed in touch...even roomed together in an apartment for one semester despite going to different college (along with Doug Kosters, RIP). I originally met Rick & the Byle family when I was a paperboy for the GR Press on their street (Hazen)..and so I would deliver their newspaper and collect the fee every month...later we became classmates and competitors and sometimes even would fight with eachother, but gradually earned eachothers respect and became friends...and when my family moved to California before my senior year of high school I ended up living with the Byles for a semester. During all these years we would play basketball, throw snowballs at cars , run around the neighborhood, go to Lake Michigan (sometimes on his old motorcycle), hang out with friends, and girls, and go to school social events, and of course both of us LOVED PLAYING highschool football..I started playing football at the "rocket" level (in grand rapids that's what they call the kids league, like little league football)...but rick didn't start playing until high school..nonetheless, he really came around as a senior and was playing fullback at times..and he also played a bit at the junior college as he really "beefed" up..i would have liked to keep playing in college but Calvin didn't have a team..and still doesn't.. ...in college we went to Florida a few times for spring break together..once with Korhorn in his Bronco..another time on a bus with Jack & Doug (Ft Lauderdale or Daytona) ...during the later years of college I didn't see him so much..after two years at Junior college he went on to west Michigan while I was at Calvin and did various semesters in other places (Hawaii, Spain, et al)...I think the last time I saw him was when I had decided to leave law school before finishing my first year...and was heading to California, and stopped in at his place at West Michigan...he was driving a little VW Bug at the time..and was working on a teaching degree (which I later would do as well )...he ended up teaching at a school outside Detroit (Anchor bay?)..and was married with two kids..I visited him once at their detroit-area home and went golfing with him. Then one day I got a email from Dave Dejong (who also notified me about Doug Kosters when he died)...telling me that Rick had died in a snowmobile accident. So SAD, so young. He was a good kid and their family was nice to me.