A heavy heart this morning...

We got a call this morning from home.  I answered the phone, "Hi, Randy!", thanks to caller ID.  It wasn't Randy, but his wife Cindy with some tough news: Randy passed away.

Randy was one of the first people we met when we bought our lot - their place is right across the street from ours.  I've written about Randy in this blog: he was a avid sailor.  They own a MacGregor 36 catamaran.  Randy gave me plenty of good advice early on in our water adventures there.  We sailed together, each on our own boat, and we sailed with them on their catamaran.  He grew up sailing the waters of the Laguna Madre and the Gulf - this was his domain.

Randy had a tough ordeal with cancer years back, and we gave them their first water outing after that on Wild Blue; not the same as sailing, but I think he enjoyed just being back on the water.  They live in the Valley, and have their place on our island for water getaways... I know Randy always looked forward to those sailing escapes.  Like us, they are able to keep their boat out their back door.  When they weren't there and nasty weather hit, I would go over and check on his boat; add or adjust lines.  When we weren't there, he would keep an eye on any activity around our house.  We looked out for each other.

They made a trip for business to the Pacific Northwest, and they came out for a whale watch tour with us.  Whenever we would get back home after a summer up there, Randy would reminisce about how much they enjoyed seeing the Orcas.

Cindy is a retired school teacher, Randy owned a fruit packing company that sent Rio Grande Valley fruits all over the country.  He talked about retiring; it didn't happen.

They are the immediate neighbors we have had the longest.  I will miss my friend.

Rest in peace, Randy - I know you are sailing free with never-ending favorable winds.