November 30, 2023 ● Mrs Craft Centric
“Hey Kid-o” Remembering Randy
Uncle Randy was present at almost every family holiday. This year’s Thanksgiving had an additional emptiness to it with his absence. Even if he didn’t attend, he was always invited.
My cousin Ivana wrote a speech to read at Randy’s funeral that beautiful captured the kindness and unassuming presence that Randy held. One of the lines in her speech broke my composure. Commonly when walking into a room, Randy would greet me with “Hey Kiddo.” This wasn’t unique to me - as given by my cousin’s memories - but it hit mi with the weight of every greeting I’ll never receive again.
So what’s a memory that I’d share about my uncle? One time, we were on a family vacation in Wyoming and visited Devil’s Tower. Randy and I took a walking path that we thought was going to bring us closer to the formation… we ended up walking around the entire structure which took about three hours. Meanwhile mom, dad, and my sister were all very confused as to where we could have gone, when we were going to get back, and how long they should wait before escalating their concern. This is during a time before cell phones. Even during the walk I remember Randy and I pausing to decide if it made more sense to go forward or backward once we realized the hike we found ourselves on. I’m glad we chose to go forward.
I hope I can find photos from that trip to include in this post.
