To My Friend, Jim O’Day

Jim: I love this place as much as you do and this is a very painful day. You and I go back a number of years and our friendship means a lot. Your son Kevin and my son Andrew were high school classmates, close friends, some of those Rattlesnake rowdies that were deep down just real good kids. When I lost Andrew in Iraq, Kevin was one of the pallbearers. It was an honor to have him there, a kid that was raised right by great parents. You have always been gracious, extremely thoughtful and kind to me, wonderful to work for as public address announcer at Grizzly basketball games. You helped me through those difficult times after my loss, always wanting to make sure I was okay. That is just the kind of guy you are.  No, this doesn't have a darned thing to do with what transpired today. It's not an account of what I know or don't know about the chain of events or what brought on this decision. And at this emotionally-drained moment, I really don't care. What I cared about was saying thank you and letting you know you're in my thoughts.      Denny