If you have ever read this blog you know that I don't talk about personal matters because it is Tales From The Wood Booger after all. But today I am going to post as Russell as an old friend of mine, David Wilhoit passed away last week.
A lot of people knew him by his nickname 'Trash' but at some point, I knew him as Dave. I have known Dave for over 30 years, back to my ETSU days. The funny thing is when I met him I didn't really think I was going to like him. One of my other close friends Matt, who had known Dave (at this time he was Trash) even longer, ask if he could room with us. Who would think from our couch would Dave would become one of my close friends.
It wouldn't be the first time we would be roommates. I moved in with him in 1991 at the Little House on Mayfield Drive. It was what it said a little house. Our living room was a couch, a table with a TV, and a walkway in-between. In a couple of years, Dave packed up his stuff in a bag, hopped on his motorcycle, and headed to Atlanta. These are the early days of the Internet so it's way before social media, so I kind of lost touch.
But then I moved to the Atlanta area in 1999 and we started hanging out again and it was like no time had passed. The one thing that did change was I got to see him as a responsible husband and stepdad I no longer call him 'Trash.' The one thing I did more than anything with was watch football. I spent plenty of Sundays watching the NFL on TV but one of the funniest stories I remember involved going to a live game. He had gotten two tickets to a Falcons preseason game against Tampa at the old Georgia Dome. We took MARTA to the game (because it's SMARTA) and while on the train an old guy came up to us (he might have been homeless) comes up to us and says "Code Wad, Coda Wad" and Dave ask what's he saying and I say "it is your drink." which was a Mountain Dew Code Red. When I see one this story is the first thing that comes to mind.
However, when I moved back to Tennessee in 2015 we kind of lost touch. We texted some and talk on the phone a couple of times but it had been two years since we had last had contact. We both said we needed to talk on the phone but didn't. Then during the pandemic, I thought of texting him, but I didn't and now it is too late, which makes him passing even harder to take.
It is still hard to believe that he is gone. I mean it is not like I have dealt with death and loss before. Whether it was my mom, brother, grandparents, cousins, friends, or pets it is always the shock that is hard to deal with. For, me it doesn't get better as you get older and what makes Dave's a little different is he is the first of my really close college friends to pass. Add to that he was only one year older it makes one start to think about their own mortality in the autumn of my life. Don't take your family or friends for granted. If you got a beef resolve it and if you haven't contacted someone do it because you might not get another chance. Oh, and don't be shy take some pictures with your friends. From my ETSU Graduation in 1991, the picture at the bottom is the only one I could find of Dave and me.
So, my sympathies go out to his mom, Sue, sisters Kathleen and Jesse, wife Lori, and everyone who knew Dave. I say this for me ...I love ya man, you will be missed brother!
*07-16-21* Here is Dave's obituary from the Cherokee Tribune Ledger-News below:
"On July 6, 2021, David passed away peacefully. He was born in 1966 in Virginia and was married in 2015. He spent his early childhood in Greenville, Tennessee, and the latter part of his life he relocated to the Atlanta area. He leaves behind his adoring wife, Lori, two loving sisters, Kathleen and Jesse, his beloved mother, Sue, and his step-father, Lynn. He also leaves behind his two stepsons, Dylan and Cole, Cole's wife, Anna, and their 3-year-old daughter, Riley. He was a devoted husband and an avid outdoorsman, enjoying the lake and anything to do with the sun. His major childhood hobby was motorcycles and video games, two loves he never lost. Many weekends were spent driving through and enjoying the mountains of North Georgia and spending time with his friends and family. David was an intelligent, witty, social guy, who made friends everywhere he went, and he kept them all. A Celebration of Life will be held on August 21st from 4:00-7:00 at the Bridgemill Pool Clubhouse. The address is 1200 Bridgemill Avenue, Canton, Ga. For Tennessee friends, a Celebration of Life will be held at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City, Tennessee on August 8th."
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