Wednesday, June 11, 2014
"Rick" ailas / Woody
I have known Rick since about 1956.
We were the best of friend through boating, roller skating and racing our car from London to Grand Bend. I think he held the record from Richmond & Oxford to Grand Bend in 29 minutes. With his Mom's car. We always liked to race to GB or to London. Much less traffic in those days.
We also raced in the river and many a close call meeting other boats coming at us.
We all water skied in the Grand Bend River and turned around at Catfish Pond and skied back.
I was on the lake last weekend and thought how strange it was not to have Rick to race up and down the lake with. He was always a little faster but always kept me in the race from Port Franks to St Joes.
I remember one time after roller skating we all took our boats out and ran to Pt Franks. Never any lights on our little boats so it was no surprise when we misjudged the harbor at Pt Franks and ran a full boat length on shore and spend the rest of the night digging our way back into the water.
Rick's Chick and the Jane R can tell lots of late night story's when we kids were out in the lake. One night one of the boats with no lights of coarse got run over by a larger cruiser. Think that scare the boys as they hightailed it full speed up the river, tied up and went home. Only to deal with the police the next day.
Rick you will be so missed, I just hope you can race all you want in Heaven.
John Blonde, John Payne, Greg Hodgins, Rob McFarlane, Lesley Shields, Barb Jackson, Barb Nunn, Alanna Quinn & Jim Young were a few of the gang that all Skated and played in the river and on the lake together.
