R Randy R

     Have you ever had the experience where you meet someone (an acquaintance really) and then years after your last meeting you meet them again and it forever alters the path of your life? No? Pity really. For me that person was someone I met when I was working for a telemarketing company. Yes, I was one of those pesky people who would call you right as you were sitting down to dinner or about to watch your favorite show. This was pre-caller ID so you pretty much answered any call. The thing is, we only called people who had requested a free Book of Mormon. When we'd get someone who would go off the handle about how they had told the person that took their order that they wanted no contact, we would calmly say we just wanted to make sure they received what they had ordered. Usually took the wind right out of their sails. But enough about that. One of the supervisors on the other side of the room was a guy named Riko. I didn't deal with him much, but we were at least friendly. The extent of our "friendship" was a hello when we'd actually be on the same side of the room for some reason. I knew he was married and that he went to Hawaii on his mission. (lucky dog) That's about the extent of it.
     I eventually quit and gave little thought to pretty much everyone there. I started going to a single adult ward and had started making new friends there. After a little while someone mentioned that he was getting a new roommate and his name was Riko. I thought this can't be the same guy because, after all, this was a SINGLE adult ward. Well, it turns out that his circumstances had changed and it was indeed the same Riko. Little did any of us realize how our lives were about to change. You see, Riko played Dungeons and Dragons and not only that, but he got a group of guys from the ward to play. Eventually, I asked if I could come over and watch one night and they said sure. From then on, I had a group of friends that would last for many, many years. We would play each week. The group would gain and loose people over the years, but there was a core group that always seemed to stick. We moved from place to place over the years. (I can count at least six different places that we played at least once.) We would do things outside of D&D like Super Bowl parties, backpacking trips, barbecues, and Christmas parties just to name a few, but that game was what kept us really together. People would get married and still we played. People had kids and still we played. Holidays would come around and still we played.  We have been playing for nearly 20 years now with that same core group. I even met my lovely wife because of this group. She was dating one of the OTHER guys that played.
     Not only did we play D&D, but Riko and I would spend countless Saturdays just hanging out in his house playing Madden Football on his old Sega Genesis, watching movies, going to comic book or gaming stores, (many times those would be the same store. Handy.) or just driving somewhere with absolutely no plan at all. I was closer with him than my own brothers. We would sing bad karaoke and laugh at bad jokes. I even went home teaching with him a time or two. With his wife working most Saturdays and me still single it was a perfect fit really. When I finally did get married, Riko was one of my two Best Men. (Sorry everyone for the long reception line.)
     Now, these many years later are we still as close? Sadly maybe not. Life will do that. However, we still play D&D, and I love staying behind and just talking with my friend like we used to. We even worked the same second job for a few months recently and it was a great opportunity to really reconnect with my friend. I should have told him before now how much I enjoyed those months. Now I'm talking about him as if he's dead or something and he's not. A lot of who I am today I owe to Riko. He was a major influence on my life though my 20s and into my 30s. I owe a lot to him and to the others in that group. That group which still surround a home made gaming table every two weeks for five hours. I honestly don't know where I would be without them and it's all because someone I barely knew, happened back into my life. How lucky was that?