R.I.P. Ray Macula

The official place for the memorial page is here now. -7/24/06

I just found out that my best friend is dead.

I hadn’t heard anything from him in over a month. Normally that wouldn’t have seemed odd since he moved to the middle of Wyoming. However, lately he’d been on instant messenger talking a blue streak. When the messaging stopped, I got concerned. When I emailed him to see if he was ok and no response, I got worried.

Tonight, though I don’t know why, I checked the obituaries. Life is odd like that.

It was odd how we came about as friends. It was in freshman year of college. In the beginning I only knew of him from sight (he’s hard to miss). He and a bunch of students were on a trip the the Jersey shore; I too was there but with a different group. I picked him out of the crowd as our respective groups passed each other and merely said “sup” and made some small banter.

Later that evening we met up again in the computer lounge of the dorm. It was were all the cool kids hung out. We picked up the banter from that afternoon (after him trying to figure out my name, ultimately calling me Rutiger because he knew it began with an “R”…), and it carried long into the night. Thus, our co-conspiracy began.

That year we frequented the local coffee house, enamoring ourselves with the local malcontents. The next year, we ran the coffee house.

Year three we weathered a long dorming experience with 2 unwanted roommates / criminal types.

Year four, it was the student newspaper all the way.

All the long we debated and conspired and created. We were a team. He became the brother I never had. I would not be the same person today had I never met him. To say he would be missed is an understatement of great proportions.

I cannot believe he is gone. But, where ever he’s gotten to, you know he’s making his mark.

Rest in Peace my brother.