THIRTY TWO YEARS HAVE COME AND GONE

Probably should go back a little farther to 1986. Saint Theresa's Elementary and Junior High School School, I was ten and in fifth grade. My partner in crime, John, and I were use to being a duo. That was about to change. We don't remember the exact day when this happened but it started at the tail end of September.A third member of our little team showed up by the name of Michael Castro. Mike had been at Saint Theresa's since First Grade. His family lived within walking distance of the school after all. It was just in fifth grade that he started hanging with me and John. Mike was an easy guy to like.

Fifth grade was where kids were switching rooms for different classes like History and Math. No more everything in Home Room. Probably Mike know me and John existed. We never had Home Room with him, ever. Started in 1986, we had every class with him. When recess came around, he meet us at the door and off we went together either to play ball or just walk and talk. Two mutts and a Filipino.Mike had a brilliant room absorbing laugh. Beyond just a belly laugh. Mike, John and I had a lot in common. Voltron, Transformers, Super Mario Brothers and Comic Books. It was Mike that actually introduced me to my favorite comic shop, until it eventually closed in 2007, "Fat Dutchie's Comic Shop".

John would leave Saint Theresa's in Seventh Grade, he and his family moved to Arizona. From that point, I was part of a duo again. We at that point had other friends but we became buddies. Watched each other's back. School dances would see me walking hunchback with Mike riding shot gun. We worked, laughed and cried together.

Spent summers hanging out the Palatine Carnival, picnics, comic shop and talking girl trouble. Neither of us was good at talking to a pretty girl. We had each talk or help dictate letters to girls. Very important stuff.

You saw one, you saw both. Even tried to come up with a video game idea. I would go to Saint Viator's for High School (1990-1994) and Mike would go Palatine High (1990-1993). Still we had that connection. Took a ride in his truck in the summer 1992. He was proud of the truck. He was working at Brown's Chicken in Palatine at the time. He earned that truck.

January 8th, 1993. There is no other miserable way to remember a day of the week. A sad moment filled with hate, fear, sadness and anger. No hope. Felt that God had forgotten us.

Seven people were killed in a Browns chicken in Palatine for no reason. Owners, 50-year-old Richard E. Ehlenfeldt and 49-year-old Lynn A. Ehlenfeldt and five employees: 46-year-old Guadalupe Maldonado, 16-year-old Michael C. Castro, 17-year-old Rico L. Solis, 32-year-old Thomas Mennes, and 31-year-old Marcus Nellsen.Two heartless animals wanted to play God. Wanted to watch people die. Nothing more. Higher then high of power. Infamous. Jokes on them, they are forgotten but our friend that we lost lives on in our memories.

It took along time for me to understand what had happened. The world was greyer for a bit. I struggled with my faith in God over this. God did not abandon me. He never has.

In fact, God gave me new friends in this terrible moment. Mike was a popular guy. Easy to hang with. A natural friend. Jay Bee, Dave, Dan, Noel and Kevin were his buddies at Palatine. They are now my closet friends. Together we all have continued to share the good and bad of life.

Mike is safe in our memories and is with God. God carried us all through that pain then and now. Giving us each other to grow stronger out of our pain came hope. The sun was not absorbed by the dark. The light lives on and we live on.

We will live among the hurt and the joy. That is how we live. Gods promise that this life is a blink but the soul is immortal and is in the hands of God forever. Mike, I love you. I miss and still remember you. Especially when I hear Sir Mixalot’s Baby Got Back. Cracked me up when he sang that.