This is a rather surreal day for me. Ten years ago one of my closest friends Scott Taylor passed away. Scott was an amazing person and I would like to share a little with you about my friend.
Scott and I met when we were both in 13 years old at the YMCA. We went through the counselors in training class together and became camp counselors for the summer. We were also both active in Leaders Club at the Y. We spent weeks together at a time over the summer, either up in McCall or Cascade at camp or at the day camps in Boise. During the year we had Leaders Club meetings, we were counselors for Youth Over-nighters and we did a lot of volunteer projects together. When we weren't working we would often get together and just hang out. When I say "we" it was rarely just the two of us, there was a number of us all active in the Y that would hang out as a big group.
Anyway, I have a ton of wonderful stories about Scott. Our friendship grew stronger and stronger through out the years. One story that I love is the night Scott and I bought each other a star. We were up at camp in McCAll, and we were out one night laying on the docks looking at the stars and just talking. Scott started to tell me that you could buy stars for people. I started laughing at the idea and after a few good laughs from both of us he told me "Okay Andi, I'm going to buy you that bright star over there, next to the not so bright one and to the right of the really bright one." For those of you who have been to McCAll you know it gets very dark at night and you can see a billion stars! I ended up buying him one as well - not really but we had a good laugh about trying to show each other which star we had picked out for each other in the mass of millions.
Scott and I went to several dances together over our high school years as each others back up dates. I think I had more fun at those dances then I had at any other. Throughout Jr. High and High School Scott and I were always just close friends. But after my year in Up With People he came home from College over Christmas break and we ended up actually dating over that month that he was home. We had some of the best conversations and an amazing time together!
Fast forward a few years; every time Scott came into town we would get together for coffee or lunch. One such visit I was at a tough time in my life and we met for coffee. I'll never forget it -Scott and I were sitting down at the Moxie on Apple St. to enjoy our coffee when he looked straight into my eyes and asked "So how are you?" He knew everything about me and he was so insightful - nothing got by him. I took one look into his eyes and started to cry. What Scott told me that day actually gave me the strength to get out of the situation I was in and helped me believe in myself again.
I want to go on and on but I won't. I'll finish with one last last story. Four days before my wedding Scott called me from Colorado and asked if it was too late to RSVP. I of course said no it wasn't too late and he told me that he and his girlfriend where going to drive up to surprise his family and come to our wedding. I was so excited. It didn't seem complete thinking he wouldn't be there. So sure enough they made it. His girlfriend was beautiful, sweet and perfect for him. I remember talking with them at the reception for a little while but it didn't seem long enough. Right before Mike and I were going to make our grand departure from the reception something in me told me to seek Scott out to say Good-bye. Despite what the wedding coordinator told me I left most everyone outside waiting to throw bird seed on us and ran back in and gave Scott a big hug. I thank God for putting that on my heart!
One month after our wedding I got a phone call from Mike's dad. Bob was and still is really good friends with Scott's dad. (small world, eh?) Bob was calling to tell me that Scott had a climbing accident and had died. I stood there in my apartment with my dad and thanked Bob for calling and hung up the phone. Then it hit me. I sank to the floor and wailed. I have never cried so hard in my life. Scott's memorial was a wonderful celebration of his life and seeing all the people who he blessed was so special. A lot of tears were shed but a lot of wonderful stories were shared too.
I didn't mean to get sad but this is for my friend. I thank God for blessing me with such an amazing friend who had such a wonderful zest for life. He was a true outdoors man. He loved to do anything and everything outside. He loved rock climbing and actually was the one who sparked my interest in the sport as well. Scott would just draw people in and was always there for his friends. I miss him to this day and still think of him often. I have thankfully had some wonderful conversations with his parents and we have shared some fun stories.
To close this dedication posting - Josh Groban has a song called To Where You Are. I dedicate this to Scotty. I love you and miss you my friend.
