Friday, December 22, 2017
I first met Raymond when I transferred to Ralph Brown School in grade 4 and he was a grade ahead of me. We were also in school patrols and the next year we won first place in the city for school patrols.
In high school, we played high school football. Due to his size and strength, six foot four, and over 200 pounds, Ray was quite a force on the playing field.
Ray had quite a sense of humour. At St. John's, he volunteered for library duty for his spares. The library was part of the old gym and the study room next door to it, did not have completed walls to the ceiling, only up door height. I was fortunate to be in the study room that afternoon. Ray brought a sound effects record to the library that day for some fun. There was a small storage room that backed onto the study room. That room had a record player and speakers. Need to say, I didn't get any studying done that class.
First, came a drip, drip from a tap, very annoying to the teacher supervising the study room. Then, a squeaking door. The teacher turned around to see who was either coming in or leaving as his back was to the door. Then, drip, drip of the tap. Then, the squeaking door. On and on. Then, for a brea k, you heard cars really gasing their engines and the squeal of tires like it was happening on street just outside on Church St.
This was really getting to the teachers as he picked up a pencil, then, put it down, Then, repeated it, again and again. He was loosing patience. I can't remember if he broke the pencil in two. He got up to complain to the library to turn off the tap.
I last saw Ray a couple years with couple St. Johns friends and also at the school re-union. We exchanged emails from time to time.
Sorry to see you go, Ray, I have some great memories of you.
