I wanted to write this last night… I couldn’t. I tried to start at work… I couldn’t. Every time I started to type, tears filled my eyes. It’s happening right now. I can’t describe the emotions. It’s like being shot back in time and remembering every single little detail about today. I figured it would get easier because “time heals”… well, I may need a lil more time. We’re not supposed to lose friends so young. It’s not natural. It’s much tougher because you were more than a friend. These last three years have given me time to think. Really think. Everything I did, since the day you hired me, was done with the intention of making you proud. To prove to you that you made the right choice when you plucked me out and brought me into your world. You were the first person I called when I got taken advantage of at a car dealership after moving out here, and you fixed it for me. You were the first person I told I wanted to propose to my wife, you helped me find a ring, and we came up with my proposal. You were the first person I called when I found out I was going to be a father. You were the first person I called when I decided I was ready to buy a home. You were the greatest writing partner I’ve ever had.

You were tough… very tough… but fair. I needed that in my 20’s, because I was essentially still a kid. But, unlike others in my past, you didn’t give up on me. Instead, you decided to coach. You rehabbed my confidence. You taught me not to care what others thought, and to do the right thing. Most importantly, you made me believe in myself.

Now, 10 years after you hired me, I sit here watching my kids play, listening to my wife read off instructions on how to make some chiles rellenos, in the home I just moved into, living the life I only dreamed of as a kid. In ten years, I went from not having a place to live, bouncing around, to this. All because of you.

I wish you were here to play with my kids. I wish you were here so that we could still jam out at your house (probably not as often because I live the ‘burb life now. haha). I do know that you are here in spirit. We all feel it. From the moment we wake up, to walking into the studio, to the drive home, to the moment we go to sleep. Everyone really misses you. Having Caroline in studio with us has been great because she is you… in a female body. Her mannerisms, her quirkiness, the way her brain is always coming up with out of left field material. She is you.

We’re still going. We will keep going… for you, because you deserve the best. You deserve to be eternally remembered. I love you, Kidd, and I know you loved me too, and that’s what will keep me going! Rest easy, my friend!