Red had an easy laugh; open and free
He laughed at himself because he was funny,
And at the world because it was his playground and he loved when it surprised him.
At The Eagle Newspaper pressroom
Red was irreplaceable
Ingenious
An out of the box thinker who loved to save the day.
He liked telling pressman history and showed me how to fold the paper hats they used to wear in the old days to protect their hair from ink.
He was proud of his work.
Red had endurance
Working long hours until the job was done.
I hardly ever saw him not covered with grease and ink.
He was often seen eating refied beans out of the front pocket of his uniform.
Red was a hard worker but a rebel
Full of mischief although he understood honor
A little crazy though he had his own wisdom.
He would have made a good pirate.
Great in an emergency Red had the presence of mind to laugh and take a sweeping bow when his hat caught on fire.
He was a gentleman who smiled at the ladies, opened doors for us, always ready with a compliment “You smell good!”
Red was kind, believing in love.
Red was a wild man.
Red could fix anything
Blow up anything
Get into anything
Race anything.
He had a theatrical sense of humor; coming to work dressed in a sarape and sombrero, maracas in hand.
It was a national immigrant walk out day but those in the mail room were not allowed to participate under threat being fired. Red and Bob harassed the manager all day yelling “No worky Monday” on their behalf. Loudly they sang in fake Spanish their made up Tejano music making said employees screech with laughter and take pictures.
And who could forget Bob and Red’s mock strip tease routine in their tool belts when they popped out of a cardboard cake for that mail room crumudgen on his birthday?
Red was accident prone.
Once accidentally peeling off the top of an Eagle truck under a bridge. We had a picture of him shrugging dramatically at the scene, smile intact.
Red was the most believable Gun Smoke cowboy and on alternate years, tie dye hippie, at The Eagle Halloween parties, always in character with memorable lines off the cuff
Red always had something inappropriate to say to make us shake our heads and laugh.
Red believed in peace but he didn’t mind stirring up a little trouble now and then.
Red was a dare devil we were sure would go out in a blaze of glory one day.
Red loved his six Yorkies with all his heart maybe especially Chester the rattlesnake fighter.
He loved his kids and spoke of them often.
He married in his teens and stayed with his wife until her death, often writing on face book afterward, that he would love her forever.
Red tattle tailed on my daughter but also defended her to me, reminding me she was a good girl.
Red made everything he touched and every place he inhabited into art. Things that dangled, things that drove, things you weren’t sure about. He was an unusual yet somehow traditional decorator. Odd keepsakes and knick knacks you couldn’t mistake for anyone else’s’ filled every available space of his house.
Red had a quick mind and a ready wit.
Once he fixed a dirt bike in the woods with a rock.
At The Eagle Red is legend, someone we’re proud we knew.
Red repaired my rosaries with love though he made cracks about it the whole time.
Red loved the press crew as his brothers.
He was there for my husband when he was dying, racing him around in his wheelchair for “one last ride.”
He said he and the press crew wanted to heal my broken heart.
Well they did.
You helped a lot Red.
Red was a good friend to all of us.
Red was reckless, adventurous, a lover of danger but he could be a sage at times, cautioning me against resentment.
If he left us with a message maybe it would be a kindly but funny warning like the one he spray painted on a barrel of toxic waste the guys were stacking on the dock to be taken away; bad shit do not eat.”
Red would tell us to forgive, to let things go and not to ever let hate settle in our hearts to embitter us.
He would tell us to live, love and be free.
Don’t eat bad shit that will damage your well being and the priceless gift of joy.
I don’t think Red will just “rest in peace.”
Too much to do.
God will have to start breaking stuff to keep Red occupied.
We love you Red.
In the great beyond
You do you.
Bethany Hang Out 