My friend Mickey Smith

I have never fancied myself a good writer, a fast one yes, but not necessarily a good one.  So there's always the hope that even if I'm not a good writer maybe at least the fun things and the interesting people I have met in my life you will find noteworthy.  So to start things off I'd like to tell you about my friend Mickey Smith, the great love of my life, as it's called.  Mickey was born into a family of people who worked in the outdoors; fishing, camping, whitewater rafting.  Mickey's father was a pioneer in the whitewater commercial outfitting industry and owned a company called Adventours Wet 'n Wild.  Mickey started rafting with his Father at an early age and his expertise was quickly apparent.  He just always knew exactly where to place the oar so that the raft would glide effortlessly even in class V rapids.  Mickey was also an accomplished kayaker, spelunker and rock climber.  Handsome with blond hair and piercing blue eyes he was also quite shy.  But get him out on a river in his raft and he was home and in his element.  He would take every opportunity to show you a new rock, a new plant, where the sun would go down, the best rapids, the best hikes.  The outdoors is where Mickey reigned.  I was with Mickey when his Mother died.  I can still see him at the campground where we had the service. He was crying and I always remember that even in his tears he managed to look over my way and mouth 'I love you'.  The last time I saw Mickey he was seeing me off on my latest life adventure - my move to Baja Mexico.  I recall the day I crossed the border from Mexico into the United States on a day visit to retrieve mail and do some shopping.  There I was sitting in the parking lot of the mail center reading the words from my friend Carolyn:  "Darling, I have sad news...."  Mickey died in the presence of his sister Glenda and his fiancee.  I was not there.