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Sorry for the delay here.  I think about this blog daily and needing to make an entry and then something else gets my attention.  One of the problems I have when blogging is trying to remember if I already told the story and not wanting to repeat content.  Forgive me if I do, as I do not want to go back and check every entry.

Today I am going to write about my best friend Scott Allen Dick.   In 1979, my third year of college, Scott was a Freshman at Ball State University.  We shared a passion for sports and he and his friend Brad are responsible for my deep passion for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.   

Scott came from a very small town and was 3 sport star in high school. He was the quarterback on the football team, a starting guard on the basketball team, and a catcher on the baseball team.  I always felt that baseball was his best sport.  He was always a coach on the field and a real team leader.  He was not really talented enough to play at division one level and was content to concentrate on his degree and play intramural sports. Everyone got along well with Scott and I enjoyed competing with him and being his friend.

In the fall of 1981 we moved in an apartment together with 5 other friends and after that we lived in a different apartments until he got married.  I had played a major role in getting him and his girlfriend together and after the school year ending in 1983 Scott and Tonya were married.  He went from being my roommate to being her husband.  They still had a little school to complete, but lived in married housing at the University  the next year. His wife was always "one of the guys" so the following year we still hung out and played sports together.  She even played first base on our co-ed softball team.

As much as we hung out, we were never the butt of jokes although one great joke was out there and it was out there and quite apparent.  One summer we took an apartment with the understanding that we would do maintenance for the rent.  10 hours each per week and that was a great deal. Another kid stayed across the street and he was 18 and fresh out of high school.  He had no plans for college and was just excited to have his own place.  His mother lived close and he often would go home for a home cooked meal.  Anyway you may know my last name is Heiny and one night his Mom inquired about his plans and he answered, that he was going to "Dick and Heiny's".   His Mom asked if that was a gay bar and when he heard this story, we laughed our ass off.  We could not figure out how that joke had not been used over the years.  It is always a good quality to be able to laugh at yourself and we only found humor in this story.

I left Ball State for Arizona in the late summer of 1984 and Scott moved to Indianapolis and started working with Osco drug.  Scott had a teaching degree and a minor in coaching, but he needed to work and he took a management position as nothing came up in the area.  His wife work in computer programming and she could earn serious dough and they lived a short while in Indianapolis.  Soon they had a couple of boys and I got to visit them a few times over the years.  We always had some stories to think about the "glory days" and would have some genuine good times just sitting on the sofa telling stories.  I never had a better friend in all my life, and was so happy to see him with his college sweetheart and doing well with two children.   I failed to mention that Scott and Tonya spent their honeymoon in Cincinnati for a Reds three game series.  Most women would probably find that to be a nightmare, but Tonya was a big Reds fan as well and they had a great time.

Going back to 1980 when we lived in a dorm, but were not roommates, Scott started a tradition of drinking one beer at 1pm and listening to "Hey Jude".  I'm not sure why, but I went along with it.  We both had a class at 1:10 that day, and although I was not one to attend class often I would at least walk to class with Scott before I decided to go back to the dorm.  He was much more dedicated to his studies than I was.  I was much more into table tennis and pool in the dorm lounge.   Scott graduated in a bit more than 5 years, and I left after 7 years with no degree. 

In August of 1990, I was living in Scottsdale when I got the call from a friend of ours.  Scott was murdered in South Bend Indiana at the Osco drug store shortly before opening that morning.  Two other employees were murdered, one a pharmacist and the other a cashier.   Without boring you the murderer was a previous manager that was robbing the store on a Saturday morning as that was the day the armored car would pick up and entire week's worth of deposits.  The armor car pick up was moved to Friday but the previous manager/killer was unaware.  He was convicted in one of 3 trials but the conviction was over turned on appeal and the killer is free to this day.  There are so many more details of the murder, but I won't bore you with them.   So at 29 years of age, a young husband and father of 2 was taken from his family.  This story haunts me to this day, and I can only think what could have happened if he was spared.

10 years later, my son was born in Orange County California.  Scott Allen Duane Heiny was named of course after my best friend and I always knew that I wanted to name my son after him.  At 11 years old, I think Scott is just grasping the story of how he got his name.  Scott is a great son and a gift from God for sure.  Although we are very far apart, with all the technology out there today, we do talk nearly every day and he does get to visit me in Tijuana on occasion. He is bi-lingual and a pleasure to be around.  Everyone in Tijuana is always asking about him.

One day a couple of years ago, my son was home and having dinner with his Mother and many of her friends.   Without any prodding, Scott announced to the entire party that he "knew what his Daddy does".  His Mother was quite nervous when one guest asked what his daddy does, and Scott replied, "He throws parties and raises money for orphan's in Mexico".  His Mother was quite relieved and the house guests who only got part of the story were quite impressed.  Since then we have had a nice visit about my business and why discretion is best.  He is a great kid and I love him with all my heart and then some. 

So today "Hey Jude" has a special meaning to me and I hope over the years Scott can appreciate that part of the story and learn to see his connection to that song.  It is a small world and you never know when your time will come.  I guess we all dodged a bullet this weekend and are living on borrowed time.

Our Tijuana soccer team just advanced this weekend to the first division.  This will be a great boost to the Tijuana economy and some of that could even help Team Juanita.  The Reds are struggling with the Indians, but they have time to make amends. Hopefully we will have a NFL season start on time and  the Irish will continue to rise in college football.  Life goes on and we are best served enjoying the moment. 

Everybody stay safe please and I will be back soon.