When the unthinkable happens

Rick liked Coors light… He always drank it and especially on ‘Boat Days’ on Shell Island, a small party Island just south of Pass-a-Grille Beach in St Pete.  Boat Days were every Sunday, where we would meet and party all day…  just too much fun and lots of great memories.

It has been four years since the horrible event that took Rick and Karla from us.  I met Rick in 1988, about six months after my Wife and I relocated to Tampa from Michigan. I recall the first time we met. Rick was hired as a software specialist for our company. He had a boisterous laugh that you could hear for what seemed like miles.  Rick and I became very close friends. He was my manager, my mentor, my business associate, but mostly I referred to him as one of my very best friends.   Friendship is a very hard thing to quantify.   Typically true friendship is defined by history. History differentiates friends from acquaintances.   As you get older and have a family, you gain more and more acquaintances, but true friends seem harder to come by.   It is that special chemistry that you just happen upon, that draws people together.  It was like that with Rick from the first day.   We used to start our work day at 6:45 with a cup of coffee. Rick was always one who thought that starting early would enable you to get the small stuff out of the way before others arrived at work…. This is a habit that has stayed with me over the years.

Rick dated a fair bit and had some serious relationships but never really met the ‘right one’.  I recall when he emailed me a picture of Karla and told me that this was the next Mrs. Van Dusen! He was so excited, and totally in love.  I  had never seen Rick like this.

Karla owned a court Reporting business in the Carolinas and her Son was in dental school.   Many people do not subscribe to the concept of Soul Mates.  That would be hard to debate if they had ever met Rick and Karla.  These two were destined to be together form birth, and it just took a lifetime for them to find each other. Karla moved to Florida, and they were married on the beach.   Rick loved the beach and used to comment on how lucky we all were to be able to call Florida home.  Rick would comment, that people save the entire year to spend a single week in our back yard.

Rick took a position as a Regional Sales Manager, which kept him on the road the majority of the time.  This was especially hard for Karla, who missed her family.  Karla’s son had graduated and was starting his own practice.  Karla had discusses running the office for him. Rick called me and told me that they had made the decision to move to the Carolinas, and that they had placed a down payment on a historic farm house…

Rick was a Big Brother and Karla was a Clown… no really… a Clown :).  Karla would volunteer as a Clown at Children’s hospitals and Rick had a little Brother that he spent time with.  Rick got involved with classic cars.  They would take his little Brother to the shows on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings.  Rick had a bright red 1971 Chevy pickup truck that had been fully restored.

The last time we saw Rick and Karla was at my Daughter’s college graduation party in August of 2003.  Rick and Karla were so excited about the move.  Rick told me he was selling his show truck and was in the market for an old Jeep.  Rick told me how proud he was of our Daughter.  Nicole had known Rick since she was 10 years old.

A horrible turn of events:

I spoke with Rick a few times between August and Thanksgiving of 03.  They were in the process of moving, and were trying to sell the house in Florida and still trying to sell the truck.   He loved the fall in the Carolinas and invited us to visit for a weekend.   They had plans on spending Thanksgiving in Florida with the family. We spoke the week prior and discussed getting together for a few beers.  Karla was already down preparing for the week’s festivities and Rick was traveling.

I do not know the details of their final days, but I do know that they spent them together.  The days were most likely filled with warmth, love and laughter.

We read about it in the paper.  It was a moment that changed our lives forever. The front page read… A Terra Verde couple found murdered.   As I read further, their names were mentioned... Richard and Karla Van Dusen. My heart stopped.  I read it over and over again.   I recall my Wife hysterically saying…  “That just can’t be… How can this be???”    It is difficult to describe just how this horrific event changed our lives.

I guess we all get somewhat desensitized by media. It seems that every evening the news reports that someone has been murdered… It is just never someone that is close to you.  When I hear these news reports, it saddens me to think of the families and knowing what they are going through... What we went through...   I still recall attending the trial with Rick and Karla's family... It is just not fair that their children should be dealt a hand like this.

An evil person took the lives of two really good people.  The kind of people that you are proud to call your friends.  As a horrific of a loss it was for family and friends, the true loss was for this person…  You see in the end, he never knew Rick and Karla.  He never had the privilege of having these great people touch his life as they did ours.

There is not a day that goes by, that I do not think of Rick. It is especially hard around the holidays. Little things trigger reminders and memories… laughter and tears. Mostly good thoughts these days, as I know Rick and Karla would want it that way.

So my Christmas message to all of you:
Spend time with family and friends. They are in your life for a reason. I truly believe in destiny and Karma. Do something nice for a total stranger, and give out plenty of hugs!  We never really know how short and precious life really is and what a gift it is to have family and friends around.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/01/14/Tampabay/DNA_leads_to_arrest_i.shtml