Letter Brings Rick To Tears

When I was 9-years-old I had this friend named Colin Murrable.  I guess he was more of an acquaintance than a friend.  A kid in the neighborhood that I played sports with, built forts, rode bikes together sometimes.  We didn't hang out much but on occasion we'd cross paths.

Colin reached out to me on facebook today.  I haven't talked to him since we were probably 11 or 12.  What he said next brought me to tears and has made me look at life in a very different way.  I didn't know it at the time but Colin suffered from depression when he was young.  The reason I didn't see him much was because he spent most of his time inside, locked away from the world.

When Colin was 10-years-old he was having some difficulties with the other kids in the neighborhood.  They had made up some rumors about him that he was gay and some other things that were hurtful to him.  I had heard the other kids talking, I didn't pay much attention.  I knew they were lies and it didn't bother me.  I remember seeing Colin sitting on the curb one afternoon with his head down and looking really sad.  So I sat next to him.  I said "Hi".  He had tears in his eyes and he ran off into his house.  I felt bad, but at 9-years-old you sometimes don't understand the severity of what people are going through.  I went on with my day and had completely forgotten about Colin.  To be honest, I can't hardly remember much interaction we had after that.  We both grew older, moved away, started lives, and that was that.  Until... he reached out today.  Here's the letter he wrote to me on facebook.

Ricky,

 

I hope life has been as good to you as it has to me.  I have an incredible family, two kids, a wife, and a career in financing that has brought us all the blessings we could ask for.

 

I wanted to thank you.  When I was a young man I struggled with many things.  One day in particular I struggled more than most.  October 17, 1981.  For different reasons, some that made sense and most that didn't, at 10-years-old I had decided to take my life.  I had it all planned out.  I had access to my father's gun and my intention was to end it in the bathroom that evening.

 

With all these thoughts running through my head, my mind in this battle of what to do and what the repercussions might be, a skinny, little kid from down the street walked up, sat down, and said hi.

 

Not a single kid in our neighborhood had talked to me that entire week.  You didn't judge me.  You didn't look at me like I was a geek, fat, stupid, or any of those things those other kids were saying.  You were nice and you said hi.

 

I knew my mother and father loved me.  My brother loved me.  But for some reason I needed more than that.  That one little word and your kind act of sitting down and being my friend made a difference.  Made all the difference.  You never knew.  How could you?  But know this, you made a difference.  You made a difference to a fat little 10-year-old who was having the worst day of his life.  Thank You.

After reading through this again I can't hardly type.  Not because I'm proud of myself, but because I'm so sad about the many opportunities I've had, and I've let them pass me by.  Who of us isn't Colin at one point in our lives?  And how many people could we make a difference for if we just slowed down... got over ourselves... and took the time to just say hi?

MAKE A DIFFERENCE!