My Friend Randy

in #friend4 years ago (edited)


Dear Reader

Thanks for dropping by.  I had made a previous post in regard to writing for myself, and I think this is a prime example.  I do hope you enjoy this post, but it was not written for you.  If you were friends or family of Randy, and happen to stumble upon this post, I hope the fact his existence was not forgotten by someone else provides you some comfort.


About Randall Lee Cathcart


Randy and I at a campground during our road trip, and yes I had a camera attached to me in those days too.

My friend Randy lost his life, just when it was getting started. I had just enlisted in the Air Force, and had only been in tech school a few months, when I learned that he was tragically thrown from the bed of a truck in an automobile accident. Ironically during my stint at Keesler AFB, near Biloxi Mississippi, I had taken several road trips to New Orleans in the bed of a truck.

Randy was a wayward kid, and had a troubled home life. He would hang out at my family home quite a bit to escape, and even went with us on a family vacation. I thought about him from time to time after his passing. Despite my effort to find an obituary, or learn of his final resting place, I had no luck for several years. I was planning to pass through my old home town of Riverside, California in 2012, and I thought I'd give him a quick search to see if there was any new information floating around on the Internet. To my absolute joy, less than a year prior, a random volunteer named Mister Bill had cataloged his grave at Findagrave.com. From his simple snapshot, I was able to actually see his headstone, and even better, I knew his grave sat along a fence line behind some railroad tracks. Thank you Mister Bill!

When the time finally came for visiting my childhood home, I paid a visit to Olivewood Cemetery, and after about an hour of wandering the fence line, I found my friend. I have to say it was a moment of catharsis for me. An entire 18 years had passed, and here I was at the final resting place of my friend.  I left a little bouquet of flowers, and I sat for a while and reminisced in silence, before continuing on my journey.


Dear Randy,


Randy and I about to load up into the family truckster.

Today was one of those random days I thought about you. When you died, the World Wide Web was nothing but a curiosity. There was no social media. People didn't carry around a portal to the sum of all human knowledge in their pocket. The only evidence of your existence I could find in this digital world, was the result of a good Samaritan.

So here I am, over 25 years after your death, memorializing you on a system connected to a network that was a mere glimmer of potential when you passed. Here's to you Randy Cathcart, your memory lives on with me, and now on one more spot in this digital realm that now occupies so much of my time.

Your passing at such a young age, is in part, the reason I strive to make the most out of every day, 



Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://joshman.com/my-friend-randy
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PS

In honor of Randy, I will be donating the equivalent post rewards to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (https://www.missingkids.org/), and will post confirmation of that within this comment.

20200523 10_07_38Thank You for Your Donation to Help Keep Children Safer  MAIN WEBSITE PAGE  Br.png

Many thanks to those who voted below, and to @ybanezkim26 for your direct donation.

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To those who downvoted. Thanks for proving me right.

Sounds like a hell of a friend bro. That is a classic vintage shot of you two also. A beautifully worded post about a topic not too many delve into on this blockchain.

He was a good kid. A distant memory now.

@joshman please keep up doing good work in helping people!❤️

Josh, only reading this right now, in the middle of our work day. I was so moved after reading it that I stopped doing whatever other thing I was doing.. and read it aloud to my family. They are all equally moved. My younger can't appreciate the emotion, but understands when the family is listening to something with rapt attention. My older had a few questions and I tried the answer them the best I could.

I guess we all have a Randy somewhere that we wish we could be around, but can't anymore... such is life.

Beautifully written and I am surprised that you tracked down those old paper copy photographs... they are wonderful.

Many thanks for sharing. Due to this post, our monotonous afternoon became slightly different.

You're welcome and thanks for the great comment. It means a lot to have elicited such a real world response!

That's so heartbreaking! I lost a friend too a few years ago and it's definitely something that will have a huge impact on your life! But the best part is that no matter what happens, they are in a better place now, watching us daily and remaining in our hearts!

It's sad, but I agree, whatever suffering they may have experienced in life is now completely gone.

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Just sent a tip instead because my vote won't make a dent. We all want to be remembered so your friend is blessed to have you.

Thanks, that was generous of you! I will account for it when I make my donation.

Man, always tragic when young people don't get to live out their lives. Very touching to see you honor him here 25 years later.

Thanks. I think he was probably the first experience I had with someone close to me dying.

its hard to accept when someone who always admired is no longer with you but one thing is definitely he will always remain in heart forever

True statement. I appreciate your comments.

My goodness! Well it's quite great that you finally found his resting place. It's emotional one as well. I'd guess you're above 40 now I can't tell, but that picture of you and him below was really way back. It's sad to lose a comrade

Yes, I am no spring chicken!

Thanks for your comment!

It is unfortunate that this young man has lost his life. Friend I hope you are well and death does not distinguish age, race, or social class .. greetings

So very true friend, death does not discriminate. Life is good, and I hope you are doing well yourself.

Sorry for the loss of your friend.

I can relate a bit in that a friend of mine passed away in a tragic manner 15 years ago. A lot of people from my hometown still remember her.

Thanks, I'm sorry to hear that! The Internet casts such a long shadow now.

such is life when those we love, leave us behind untimely. I'm glad you guys shared a great moment together and that you were able to find his tomb. We that are still alive should do the right thing and remember our last moment in life. who knows it might even be today.

Indeed, we can never know what tomorrow brings. Thanks for your comment!

Sometimes there are just some valuable friends who come to your life as a blessing and you can not forget them easily. They just form part of you.

Sorry for the lost and I believe certainly that wherever Randy is, he will be proud of his friend life presently

Thanks, I certainly hope so!