Sighs and groans and cherry stones

One thing you can be sure of is that life continues to hurl those curve balls in your direction. Sometimes you hit it out of the park and others you strike out.
When I was in high school, my senior class was extremely close and we have remained so for 40 years. We've all managed to stay connected and in touch with each other no matter how far we drifted from our home park. Our senior class president was a fun loving guy who began every meeting we had with the phrase, "I'm just so proud to be here." He was the oldest son of a woman who had lost her husband too early and worked in the drug store with my mom to raise her boys. Keith was a cowboy through and through, always the big stetson hat, the big shiny belt buckle, the big wad of "chew" in his jaw and the impeccable manners of a boy who learned early that women should be respected and treasured. Keith had a difficult time finding a girl to date in high school. We all loved him but to us he was our brother and we could never find it in ourselves to regard him otherwise. He had a huge crush on me for a long time and I think he had great hopes that our senior trip to Rockaway Beach, Missouri might cause me to see him in a whole different light. But it didn't, he was always "Banty Wayne" a nickname given to him by our football coach because of his scrappy personality on the football field. The coach told him he reminded him of a little Banty rooster and Keith embraced that title as he embraced everything else. Having no dad, I think he was so pleased that someone cared enough to label him and tease him because it meant they cared.
Since we all stayed in touch when I was a single mom living in Fort Smith with Kaylee I would see Keith from time to time. He worked for the FFA as a director of their fundraising projects. If you ever have the chance to purchase the FFA meats, you need to, they are great. Anyway, Keith would travel through Fort Smith about 4 times a year. He always planned his trips to overnight in Fort Smith and he would take me to dinner and take me dancing and show me a great time. And when he left, he made sure my freezer was stocked with bacon, ham and sausage. Sometimes when he came through town, he was married, sometimes he was single but it didn't matter he always checked on me and made sure I wasn't needing anything. Keith was a hard working, fun loving, beer drinking, lover of women and life. And he is gone. I learned yesterday that he died after suffering a heart attack. My sadness is great. My first thought was I am so glad that my BFF Helen is not alive to suffer this. She and Keith grew up together and were certainly as close as siblings. I don't think Helen could have stood losing Keith so now I know why God took Helen first. But one thing I know for sure is that as soon as Keith arrived in Heaven, he marched right up to those pearly gates and proclaimed, "I'm just so proud to be here!" And Keith, I am just so proud to have known you and been your friend for most of my life. I know you will put in a good word for me and I know just what you'll say.....Aw...you can let her in, she's a good 'ole gal. I love you and will miss you Banty more than I can say.