 My 92-year-old yoga master of 26 years has always said to me "the only thing that you take with you .....are your memories"
He was 11, I was 14. He was tall and handsome and very confident, I was not. He took me under his wings and befriended me, taught me how to play the guitar: Sleepwalk, Wipe Out, Louie-Louie, House of the rising Sun, we even had a band, "The Equations". He sang and played lead, I played rhythm. We jammed in his basement on North Victor street, played community centers and birthday parties. We were just two kids who thought we knew everything....I liked that.
He had a really cool big brother who worked at F and S auto parts. He could blow smoke rings from his cigar all the way across the store, and he loved cars just like us. He owned this really neat 38 Chevy ... my big sister married his big brother... I liked that....
When I returned from Vietnam, when I needed a friend the most, he was there for me. We shared a nice apartment on 4th and Mingo with two other guys. We chased women, dropped acid, partied until dawn, ate ice cream till we got sick and then smoke a joint and fall on the floor laughing and giggling like little schoolgirls. We had no cares in the world... I liked that.....
We both had that same hunger for life, so we set off on our own journeys, he to Seattle, and me to New York City. A few years later, we found each other again. He was traveling to New York and I was waiting tables at a restaurant there. It was just like we had never been apart, we spent hours and hours catching up, laughing and laughing and laughing until our guts hurt... I liked that.......
At that point we realize just how much we loved one another and how important it was to stay connected, and we did..... And I liked that......
One year we traveled to Mexico with his teenage sons Tony and Philip. I rented a van and we went up in the back roads to learn to drive a stick shift, of course they had been driving quarter midgets long before that, but to share that with him....Memories ....Puerto Vallarta ...Chico's Paradise... The BEST margaritas in the world, horseback riding, the beaches of Mismaloya ... Memories... Meeting Dr. Jay and sitting on Oprah's private jet.......wow... I liked....that.......
Oh how we loved to play golf together. Malibu country club, Sherwood Oaks country club, Lost Canyon in Simi Valley, and my favorite Lakeside Country Club, where we would rub elbows with stars like Sylvester Stallone, Joe Pesci, and Jack Nicholson. The day that I will remember forever at Lakeside. He had a drive that was perfect, and I shouted "you're the man"! And he turned to me and said, "no I'm just the guy who knows the man." And he had that look, that look of unconditional love. That made me feel real good about myself. That was him. He was THE MASTER of making people feel good........ And I liked that........
A couple years ago we were in LA and he treated my teenage daughter to a Lakers game, her favorite team. Boy she had a great time. The next night he treated me to the best night that we two have ever spent together. He took me to the Rainbow Bar and Grill, and right from the beginning everyone greeted him like he was a movie star .......I should've known...we sat near the entrance and everyone that walked by said hello to him by name. We even got our first selfie together with Ron Jeremy!!!!!!! We celebrated life together that night like no other night, in our lives. On the way back to the hotel we talked and talked about all the wonderful, wonderful years that we have been so close. We laughed and we laughed so hard that he ran off the road. We lived! so .....I liked that.......
Last Thanksgiving we flew to Las Vegas to spend the holidays with him and his wonderful family and friends. Just like the previous 24 years. Colorado, California, Mexico, Las Vegas, It did not matter, we were there, we were family There he was in the kitchen doing what he loved to do more than anything else in the world: cooking for his friends and family. He would crack a joke and then came that laugh... that laugh... that I came to so love. He said Grace and then we all sit down and enjoyed each others company. That night we all played dominoes and poker. Later after most had retired he, his big brother and I stayed up reliving 51 years of being friends and family... Memories... We laughed and we laughed and we laughed ..................until we cried...........I did not like that........... Gary... That is his name... Hollywood Hickman.....my bro......My BEST FRIEND!!!
Oh how I miss you...........Because you see......I'm just the guy, that knew "THE MAN"
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Cathy Lloyd has been part of the Ripley-Grier family of teachers since we were called New York Spaces and our office Holiday Party could fit at one restaurant table. You'll find her teaching Pilates-based fitness classes at our 72nd street location on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. I had the distinct pleasure of sharing a few moments with her back in November to find out more about her approach to her specialty, "50+ Fitness".
