Hey Dad!

At Naters wedding and we saved you a spot at the fun table of course. His wife is beautiful inside and out! We are all thinking of you and missing you! Love ya always ~me

   Great pictures on here of Scott. It takes my breath away knowing he's gone, even if we only saw each other a few times in the last 30 years. My best friend from 1st grade through high school, and the only pic I can find of him is from when he visited me in Omaha and I took a picture and he stuck his finger way up his nose just when I snapped it. Hard to believe we were both yearbook photographers.
   We had so much fun together. Staying up all night at the Gause house laughing til we woke his parents time after time, Ralph coming in and telling us to "keep it down to a dull roar, fellers" the first time, then proceeding with a sterner admonishment each time til we knew we were really in trouble (and Ralph and Sunshine was really tired) usually about 4 or 5 am.
   Drinking milkshakes and building with legos everyday when Scott wrecked on Jeff Ilstrup’s bike and had his jaw wired shut one summer. I won all the arguments that summer-since he couldn’t really talk. Building huge blanket forts in his basement. Playing Little League with Ralph coaching. Playing kickball and dodgeball at Woodrow Wilson. Maytag picnics. Skoshi the wondercat. Beta, the dog who I believe came to the Gause house by way of brother Steve’s frat house.
   Man from U.N.C.L.E and 007 type spy espionage games (the Rat Club) with Dave Currant that would play out over weeks throughout the backyards of southwest Newton. The Rat Clubhouse was a huge shipping container in the Gause backyard. Basketball at the Y. The Topland Rutabaga Band with Judd Salmon (another unicyclist, Judd has also passed on), and Scott on drums. Backyard wiffle ball with Mike Twedt. Every type of card and board game you can think of at Twedt’s-we even learned bridge in junior high. Mike has been gone over 20 years now.
   Tennis ball cannons made with pop cans, tape and lighter fluid. Cox airplanes and Estes Rockets. The toy monorail we built with a Cox 020 engine, badminton racket handle, long hookeyes and a couple hundred yards of kite string-it had to be going 100 mph when one of us missed stopping it with a thrown towel and it hit the pine tree at Woodrow Wilson and disintegrated. Making homemade smoke bombs, buying saltpeter by the pound from Nollen’s Drug and getting funny looks from the pharmacist.
   Golfing daily at Westwood, getting dropped off in the morning and picked up at dinnertime.  Riding unicycles across town to play baseball at Emerson Hough, Sunset or Woodland Park. Riding minibikes in Denniston Knolls. Foosball at the bowling alley and Brad Bucklin’s basement- Scott and I were almost unbeatable. Waterskiing on Lake Panorama-the time I wiped out and the ski ramped off my head and we didn’t know I was cut until I put my white cap on and it started turning red. Riding a Greyhound bus to Omaha to see the Allman Brothers Band in high school.  Riding our little two stroke motorcycles to Clear Lake, much to Ada and Sunshine's worry. Rodger Vonk rode with us, Rodger died last year falling through a roof in Colfax-he was working as a roofer. Hanging out on Rodger’s porch on First Avenue.
   Camping out down by the Skunk River-we were awakened by inmates from the Riverview Prison release center standing there with pitch forks-that woke us right up. Jumping off the train trestle into the river by Metz. Riding freight trains across town. Exploring bums tunnel using railroad flares. Racing around town and gravel roads in the Green Bean-the ’72 Chevy Caprice with the 400 4 barrel. The time he was spinning donuts and hung it up on a post in Maytag park.
   More memories than I will ever be able to recall. First time I ever kissed a girl, took a drink, broke a law, stayed up all night, had a smoke, used a swear word... Scott was either there or the first one I told. Scott was smart, funny, good looking and great company- just like me.

Damn it.

   Let me know if there is anything I can do for the Gause family, my second home growing up was Scott’s house.