Telling A Friend "Goodbye"

Have you ever had to tell a friend goodbye ?
I don't mean an "I'll see you later" or a "Take it easy"...I mean, a heartfelt, definite, tear-jerking, final "Goodbye".
I had to do that yesterday.
You see, I have a dear friend who's dying.

Many of you know Lloyd Ray Smith, the long-time director of the Area IV Special Olympics program here in Chattanooga. He is dying of cancer...and the end is painfully close.
What you may not know is that for many years, Mike Hennen and I were co-chairs of Area IV Special Olympics fundraising. Mike & I were on the board of directors for Special Olympics. Mike and I had a soft spot in our hearts for Special Olympians.
So, we spent a lot of time with Lloyd Ray.
Times both good and bad.
Time spent figuring out how in the heck we were gonna pay for this and how in the heck we were gonna pay for that. How we were going to get the kids from one point to another. How to elevate the local program to national standards.

And that glorious Saturday in late April, when hundreds of Special Olympians of all ages would gather on the field at McCallie School to light the Special Olympics torch and compete in the track & field games, with each athlete coming out a winner.
On that Saturday, volunteers from all walks of life would come out and shed a few tears and Lloyd Ray would proudly look out over the field at "his kids". Never mind that some of them were older than he, they were all "his kids".

Afterwards, several of us would drink a beer or two together and revel in the track and field games, and figure out how we could make the following year's event even more special for the competitors and volunteers alike.

Well, Lloyd Ray has had his last beer and attended his final track & field meet.
He is in his last few days of life on this earth, and let me assure you of this: For all the good he has done for generations of mentally retarded children and adults, and for the sheer size of his heart alone, there's got to be a very, very special place in heaven for this giant teddy-bear of a man.

When the Special Olympians gather in a couple of months, Lloyd Ray won't be down on the field with everyone. He'll have a much, much better vantage point. And as always, he'll be smiling down on "his kids".

And I, along with many, many others, will miss him deeply. Deeply.

I tell you all this because Lloyd Ray & I had sort of lost touch over the past couple of years since his retirement, and for that, I am regretful. Don't let your friends in life slip away; life is too short and friends are too few.

Pick up the phone and call your friends and tell them what they mean to you.
And do it today...tomorrow may be too late.

Chip Chapman