Hi Gene,
I was hoping you would get better but after some thought maybe you did. I know down here things were tough and I understand how it gets hard to fight. I want to tell you that you were my best friend for a long time, other then Todd, you were by bud..
I'm going to tell a story to your family when I see them so I hope your okay with it, so here goes..
Gene and I meet a long time ago. He use to brag to me all the time how we fought on the play ground in 6th grade. See, Gene got held back that year and when he came to my class he had a chip on his shoulder. Seemed I was the lucky one he decided to take it out on. So, for 4 weeks Gene use to chase me thru the school yard at recess. Gene was big and tough and I was small and fast. Gene would shout he was going to kill me and I would shout back he was too slow to ever catch me. He would threaten me and I would torment him. Finally, we had the show down. Gene caught me while I wasn't looking and he dropped me on the ground. He turned me over and there we were face to face. He had his knees on my arms and I couldn't get out. I said go ahead hit me, I get hit all the time at home anyway. Seems that struck a cord with Gene because he said forget it and got up and then helped me up. After that, we became best of friends all the way thru High school. Later on in life, Gene would remind me of his generosity from back then and I reminded him I got tired of tormenting him for being so slow.. I finally asked a few months ago while he keeps bringing that up and he said because those were some of “the happiest days” of my life, Being young and having real friends back then.
One time in High school I called Gene to come over so we could drive around on a Sunday. I thought nothing of it, we did it all the time. Gene was the only one driving then so it was cool cruising by our buddy's in a car while they were on bicycles. Problem was, they peddled faster then Gene would drove! He would only go about 25 miles an hour because he would say he didn't want to “hurt” his mom’s car. One time I said " Gene!, I could get out and run faster then you drive this car!", He got so mad at me, he turned around and took me home.
Another time, Gene showed up at me house with Antny in the car. No big deal, but when I walked outside to get in, I noticed the dog was in the front seat sitting at attention like he was Genes body guard, which he was as we all know. I said Gene! tell Antny to get in the back seat! " Gene said no, come on Ron, just sit in the back!... I said are you kidding? you want me to give up my seat to your dog? He said just sit in the back... I started laughing and walking away..I thought there is no way anyone is going to see me in the back seat of a 4 door yellow car going 25 miles an hour with a dog in the front seat thinking I had any chance to look cool.. Finally he said: fine!. He moved Anty to the back told him he was sorry it was Ron’s fault not him. Gene proceeded to talk to Antny thru the rear view mirror for an hour like I wasn't even there. Telling the dog what we were going to do next and why he was sorry Ron was in the front seat...
I remember once telling Gene when I saw him in NY shortly after we graduated college how I thought he did the most and best out of all of us buddies. He asked me why I think that and I said: I was reading this book when I got out of College, I had a little sport shop and I was struggling. I use to pick this book up like it was my bible because it was a self help book called " thinking Big". One of the chapters talked about not what you had in life but where you started from in life. Gene and I definitely started at the bottom of the pack. Out of I think 390 people who graduated that year in Shawnee, I think Gene and I came in at 278 and 285. I use to kid him he was 285 so I was smarter than he was... Anyway, this book was written in parable’s and this one chapter spoke of a man who started with 1m dollars in life and ended up with 500K before he died. The other man started with 1K dollars and ended up 100K before he died. The book then asked who was the richer of the 2? The answer of course is the man who had 100k. It was because he doubled his wealth 99 times over his lifetime and the other man lost 1/2 his wealth over his life time. So I said to Gene, from where we started you have done the most out of all of us. From the bottom of the class you got your degree, you lived in NY and now at that time he was making good money and had a nice apartment. I told Gene I admired him for that..
Gene eventually moved to California and we lost touch for a while. We spoke on the phone but never got together again in person until his mother died recently. When I came to Meford to show Gene support and to say hi, I didn’t recognize him. I could hear his voice like I always did when we spoke on the phone but my vision of him was when I last same Gene in NY 25 years ago. It was great to see him. We had a drink and then someone luckily came and took him home. I knew he was fighting some demons inside and I always tried to make him laugh when we spoke.
The biggest and lasting impression I will always have of Gene was when I called him in California a long time ago. I hadn’t seen Gene for a while and I was working on a government order I was having assembled near his home town. The job was complete but I had to give the factory their money before they would ship my order and they wanted cash. It was the first time I used the company so I was reluctant to just send it to them. I finally called Gene and asked if there was any way he could help me. He said sure. I told him I would overnight a cashier’s check for I think about $40k and would he take it to the factory and see that my order gets out. It was a lot to ask and a lot of responsibility for Gene. He said sure send me all the instructions and I’ll take care of it. So I did. Anxiously waiting, Gene called me 2 days later and told me everything was fine. He took the day off of work and went to the factory and took care of everything. He did what I needed and much more. I thought that day how he could have taken the money, never gone to the factory bought himself a car anything but instead he made sure I was safe. When I hung up the phone I thought that no one in my live I can remember ever did something like that for me. He made sure I was safe.
I was so blown away by his generosity and honesty towards me that I sent him a check for $250.00 and told him to go to dinner at his favorite restaurant and have a party, my treat..You know 10 days later, I got the check back with the words voided on it and a note that said were friends, you don’t have to give me anything.
To this day, I will always admire Gene for that and it will be a corner stone for anyone that needs a lesson in in what kind of person they should aspire too become. Gene did do more than all of us guys who hung out together in my eyes he was the best my best friend...
I love you and miss you already Gene. We talked about retiring to my house in the Dominican Republic, open a little burger joint and watch the sun set. If I ever get there, you will be on my mind when the sun sets my friend. Stay in touch through heaven and we will meet again one day…
Your friend always…,
Ryb’s
RON S. RYBA II
Dir. Military Sales
Accent Apparel co., inc.
SBA EXPORTER OF THE YEAR 2007
410-683-2323 or 800-729-3711
fax: 410-683-0200