THE DONELSON GANG

  Hi again everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Thursday.  I've been bothered all day by the fact that I did not deliver my blog yesterday as well as I know it could have been presented.  I waited too long to sit down at the key board, didn't drown out all of the sound, and allowed my self to be distracted.  My word's were sincere and from the heart, I just wasn't 100% satisfied with the end result.  My goal is to have as many reader's as possible, and have everyone that read's my blog hit the LIKE button on my blog Facebook page, and for me to accomplish this goal, I need to have a good blog, or article, every time I share.  I entered blogging kind of like I do everything else, half prepared, which has always been a fault of mine.  As I work out the kink's, I wish to be blogging more than just once per day.  This is my goal, for me , and for you.

  I first met Ritchie Mungovan in the Fall of 1978.  I was eighteen , Ritchie sixteen.  We were a part of a group of young people that I respectfully refer to as the "Donelson Gang".  We would spend every chance we could at the lake or creek bank, not realizing then that we would be making memories that would last the remainder of our live's.  We were not bad kid's, not any of us, just the usual group of rebellious teen's that had to get out and test the the water by our own mean's.  Of course we had the usual party  and getting in to a little trouble here and there, it was the beginning of the new decade and the Age of Aquarius, what else was to be expected???  Thank you to the very kindred spirit's of two very dear ladies,, Mrs. Hill, and Mrs. Pendley, we, the Donelson gang, had pillow's to lay our head's on, and food to put in our bellie's. We as a gang, all started to go our different way's about late 1979 or so, but none of us have ever lost touch.  We all have a bond that is one of those where I may not hear from Dawn, Darlene, Robin, Cindy, Becky, Tim, Tim R. or Bryan in six month's, but if I called any one of them for a favor, I wouldn't have to ask twice.  I do hope that you all have those kind of relationship's in your life, I'm sure that most of you do.
  As we grew older and eventually started families of our own, Ritchie and I stayed in particuilarly close contact.  Just so happened that he had bought a house a few short miles's from where I lived.  For the better part of twenty year's, Rich and I remained the best of bud's, me becoming the God father to his twin boy's, Andrew and Allen.  In the late 90's, I had to call on my best friend in the world, Dawn in North Carolina, for help in regaining traction in my life.  To explain to you the kindness that my friend's have in their heart's, I had not even met Dawn's spouse at the time, Steve, but they welcomed me in to their home with open arm's. Ritchie and I stayed in contact, him in Tennessee, me in North Carolina.  Enduring friendship.  I moved back to Nashville in the winter of 2000.



     In the year 2000, I met my wife, we decided to make the trip north, due to custody issue's, to Wisconsin to be near our children.  Ritchie and I said our good bye's, promised to stay in touch, which we did until life again got in the way.  I looked him up on MySpace from time to time, but never posted. Eventually, we lost touch.
  Fast forward to 2008,  my Mother-in-Law, Linda, God Rest her Soul, fell very ill to cancer.  Knowing her Mom didn't have long, we moved back to Tennessee, so that we could help care for Linda, my super cool Mom-in-Law. ( God, I loved that lady, and I miss her so much.) About a month after settling back into the routine of the Tennessee heat and humidity, and of course, it's southern charm, I decided to look my old friend Ritchie up,, now mind you, it had been over eight year's since we had talked.  He teared up, I teared up, told him about my wife, told me he had seperated from his, but wanted me to meet his pretty, new girlfriend.  We we're meeting the next Saturday morning at 10am at his house.  I hadn't seen my friend that I grew up with in eight year's.
  The next morning, and thirty years later, I was giving this guy I loved a bear hug like a grizzly.  We introduced the ladies, they talked, Ritchie and I stepped outside, he showed me around, his new nice tool shed, his Harley, his outside hot tub, man it was great seeing him!!!  Other than the natural year's that life adds to our character, Ritchie Mungovan looked the same.  We gave our hug's, made plan's for my house the next weekend and said our good bye's.  It was 2pm, Saturday afternoon.
  That very night, my wife and I returned home, I was getting ready to go to bed, and my phone rang.  The ladie's voice on the other end timidly said, "Is this George, Ritchie's friend?"  I said "yes it is, who's this?"  She said "This is Ritchie's mother,  George, I don't know how to say this, but after you left Ritchie's house today he called me and he cried happy tears that you actually thought enough of him to come see him after all these year's.  George, Ritchie was riding his Harley today and got broad sided by a girl in a car and died instantly, his girlfriend is in Vanderbilt hospital."  My Ritchie, the Donelson's gang Ritchie.

  Folk's, to this day, and for the rest of my life, I will tear up when thinking about my old friend.  In the picture above with all of us in the back of the station wagon, Ritchie is the only guy standing with the navy blue shirt.     Luckily enough, that day I said now what I preach to all of my friend's, my last word's to him we're "Love Ya Rich".  Now you why my blog's end with the word they do.  Until tomorrow.  Love.