Linda handed me this photo and said do you want to keep this? I replied yes. I just scanned it and did some adjustments since the original was faded. It is hard to write about this photo. It is a photo of my best friend from grade school and high school who died 26 years ago at the age of 35 of a brain aneurysm. It still hurts knowing he is not around to talk to. As kids, we did so much together. Funny how you can become lifelong friends. I first met George in Atlanta near where we lived in a neighborhood called Breckenridge off of Lavista Road near Northlake Mall. When I was about 11, me and a friend named Steve Tidwell were walking down the street near his home when we ran into George walking down the street. It turned out he had just moved here from Alaska and lived in the next cul da sac. Who remembers exactly how it all started but I do remember we called each other “mother fuckers” and the next thing I knew we were wrestling on the ground fighting. It ending fairly quickly, no one got hurt, and we went our separate ways. Before long, not sure when, we started hanging out together and found that we had a lot of fun playing together. The rest was a long friendship until he died. This photo shows George in uniform on the North Dekalb Rebel football team. We both played together on this team; he was the running back and I was the center. I could go on and on telling stories about our adventures together but that will have to be another time. When I look at this photo I just can’t seem to keep the tears back. Love you George.
Walter Shroyer Blog 