Ronald Riska

[CBStew]

None of you have ever heard of Ronnie Riska.  Ronnie was my best boyhood friend from age 5 to age 13 when my family moved from Chicago to California.  He lived down the street.  We were in the same grade until my  teachers discovered that I was too smart for my class so they skipped me up a year.  But outside of school we were inseparable.  We were always teammates when we played football or clincher softball or street hockey.  We played marbles and  hide and seek, toy soldiers, pirates and WAR.  I was the only Jew on the block and Ronnie called himself a Bohunk Looteran, but if anyone want to mess with me they had to deal with Ronnie first.  Once the big kids tried to turn Ronnie on me and force him fight me. He began to cry and swung wildly at them instead.  We loved the weeks after Christmas because  we would collect all of the discarded Christmas trees and build snow forts.  We loved the Cubs.  We never spent any money because we needed it to take the street car to Wrigley and buy bleacher seats.  We went to dozens of games that way.  We saw Jackie Robinson in his rookie season at Wrigley.  Ronnie was a great natural athlete, and something of a daredevil.  If Ronnie hadn't been my friend and playmate I probably would have been an entirely different person.  But as we entered our early teens I was developing other interests in academics and  art, and we started to go our separate ways.  Then we moved to California and I lost touch with Ronnie.  Last week, for no reason that I can understand, over 61 years later, I remembered Ronnie out of the blue and Googled him.  The only thing that came up was his obituary.  He died a couple of weeks ago.  Don't ask me to explain why I thought about him.  I don't believe in the supernatural.  I am not mourning the Ronald F. Riska, military veteran and beloved husband and father in the obituary. I didn't know him.  I mourn the Ronnie of my youth.  I mourn for my own youth.  Sorry to ruin your fun.  I don't like to post in the Dead Pool because at my age one takes it too seriously. 

[flannj]

There's not much else to say other than I'm sorry for your loss Stew.
At the very least you have some very good memories of a best friend.
I'm guessing that given what I've learned about your character since I've been here is that Ronnie probably had the same fond memories of you.

[MAD]

Sorry for your loss, Stew.

[Quality Start Machine]

Stew, having met you, I can testify that your youth is still in full bloom.

Sorry for your loss.

[Bort]

Condolences, Stew.

[Slaky]

Well written Stew. I hope I'm as cool as you when I'm that age.

[Wheezer]

There was another swirl of water on the surface of the pool and then I could not see The Grand Old Trout any more. When the pool cleared again, The Grand Old Trout was gone. I stared at the place where he had been in the river. It was empty now like a room.

[Tonker]

Well written Stew. I hope I'm as cool as you when I'm that age.

A thousand times.  THI.

[Gilgamesh]

Well written Stew. I hope I'm as cool as you when I'm that age.

A thousand times.  THI.

Agreed and ditto.

[Richard Chuggar]

I'm just glad it wasn't Ronnie Rifkin.