The Hard Truth Of Life And its Unfair Nature...
By reading my story title I figured that you could assume the worst about what I have to say next...
Ive had to deal with about the hardest thing that a
person could be dealt with in life I feel... The loss of a binding friendship that was more of a brotherhood than anything...
On January 31st of this year,my best friend and Brother Jason Redifer was killed in Iraq.
I don't know how I'll ever be the same again without him around.
As I said,I thought of him as a brother more than a friend,so for some to comprehend you'd have to imagine the closest person that you know just vanishing without a warning,without any goodbyes,or last laughs to remember...
I feel wrong saying it,but I have never felt such a loss even with an actual family member passings... It all feels so incomplete... HE was only 19,but you would have had to know him,for he was no teenager of the mind... He was really a matured adult in teenager form...
THE STORY
I met him when he was 11yrs.old and I was just 15. I remember that first summer of acquaintance since he started working for my Grandfather at the horse farm.
He was sort of cocky and loud,so I naturally found him amusing but didn't really talk to him allot for reasons of the age difference and his immediate fondness to my younger sister who was 13yrs.old at the time... It was the typical "Brothers are supposed to hate Sister's guy friends"attitude thing to do! As time passed I was 16 and licienced to drive,so Jason and I got to know each other a little more when granddad would send us to pickup horse feed and such... I started to listen to him more and started to grow a respect for him.
We often went to horse shows together with my granddad and family. Him to work and me just along for the ride... Truth is,we just amused each other until the summer of 2000... That summer,little to be known then,would be the beginning of a friendship that would go far beyond the "best friends" status that only a handful of people get the opportunity to experience in one's life time...
I was working at(Eagles Nest),the local airport as an aircraft
mechanic's apprentice,inspecting,changing oil and tires on the locals airplanes.
Jason was working an assortment of jobs,dealing with horses and cows mostly to pay for his school tuition at a high class learning facility."Stuart Hall".
The funny thing about it was the fact that he was the first male to be inducted into the previously "all girls" school...Jason,my friend,was no dummy!
Friends and I would constantly make wise cracks about it being an all girls school,but he would just shrug it off saying,a few hundred to one girl to guy ratio more than made up for our jokes! This all sounded good to us,but the truth of the matter was that he succeeded in a high class school and paid alot of his own tuition throughout his high school session... Show me someone with that kinda dedication at his age in life,not to mention a roughneck die hard cowboy to boot,and I'll more than happily lift my hat to them with the utter most respect... To continue the story,there was a horse show that summer we both had to attend with granddad,in Dillsburg PA. at an equine facility called the"Diamond 7"ranch... I had to ride "Reno",a horse that we took to compete in that particular APHA event,and Jason came to help out with the never ending pre-show preparations and to enjoy that kinda atmosphere that we so much appreciate... Later on that day we ended up meeting two girls that gave us an after show get-together invitation that we ultimately ended up missing.
But as fate had it,we met up the next day to get their phone numbers,and finding out that they were family to the owners of the Diamond 7!
A few weeks later we decided to go back and get to know those female friends,being that it was a great excuse for new faces and a road trip!
That was the first time that we had the chance to be on our own and really get to know each other once and for all...After that day,I cant remember a day that we weren't planning some sort of adventure...We even ran the,"Dave Martin" rodeo circuit for a while with the Bullmania tour of 2002,turning out to be one of our fondest memories together...Another great memory of our duo,was Jason's two horses,"Punk" and "Prince",that we often painted the local town"Stuarts Draft" with on a regular basis, tying down for a coffee at 7-11 and riding through the drive through window at Hardies.
Once during the 4th of July,running though an apartment complex with a beer in one hand and saddle horn in the other yelling "The Red Coats Are coming!"
Even though it seems like Ive written allot of words here,truth is I feel I couldn't say enough about him or how much I'll miss not having such an amazing friend as he was...I have no doubt were he is now,but its just human nature I suppose to be selfish and want more of his companionship on earth...If only "ifs"and "could ofs" were a factor of life,I would have gladly taken his place at anytime in Iraq just so I would have known that he was safe at home were he was so loved and respected by all that truly knew who he was as "The Man" he was in the teenager's body...
Never shall I know another like him,nor shall I ever try to find a replacement for a friend like Jason,that simply cant be replaced in any way,shape,or form...
Jason left me with his horse,but most importantly with us all,the valuable lessons in life that consist of what it takes to be a man of stature,a true friend,and to never take what you've been given in life for granted,since it can all be gone without a warning in a blink of an eye... The main purpose of this story is to express how proud I am to have been a part of Jason's life and a friendship that I will never forget...
Jason always said at the end of our trail rides,
"We'll Ride Again"
And one day we shall...
Josh L.
In Loving Memory to my Best Friend
Lance Cpl. Jason Redifer
USMC
Ive had to deal with about the hardest thing that a
person could be dealt with in life I feel... The loss of a binding friendship that was more of a brotherhood than anything...
On January 31st of this year,my best friend and Brother Jason Redifer was killed in Iraq.
I don't know how I'll ever be the same again without him around.
As I said,I thought of him as a brother more than a friend,so for some to comprehend you'd have to imagine the closest person that you know just vanishing without a warning,without any goodbyes,or last laughs to remember...
I feel wrong saying it,but I have never felt such a loss even with an actual family member passings... It all feels so incomplete... HE was only 19,but you would have had to know him,for he was no teenager of the mind... He was really a matured adult in teenager form...
THE STORY
I met him when he was 11yrs.old and I was just 15. I remember that first summer of acquaintance since he started working for my Grandfather at the horse farm.
He was sort of cocky and loud,so I naturally found him amusing but didn't really talk to him allot for reasons of the age difference and his immediate fondness to my younger sister who was 13yrs.old at the time... It was the typical "Brothers are supposed to hate Sister's guy friends"attitude thing to do! As time passed I was 16 and licienced to drive,so Jason and I got to know each other a little more when granddad would send us to pickup horse feed and such... I started to listen to him more and started to grow a respect for him.
We often went to horse shows together with my granddad and family. Him to work and me just along for the ride... Truth is,we just amused each other until the summer of 2000... That summer,little to be known then,would be the beginning of a friendship that would go far beyond the "best friends" status that only a handful of people get the opportunity to experience in one's life time...
I was working at(Eagles Nest),the local airport as an aircraft
mechanic's apprentice,inspecting,changing oil and tires on the locals airplanes.
Jason was working an assortment of jobs,dealing with horses and cows mostly to pay for his school tuition at a high class learning facility."Stuart Hall".
The funny thing about it was the fact that he was the first male to be inducted into the previously "all girls" school...Jason,my friend,was no dummy!
Friends and I would constantly make wise cracks about it being an all girls school,but he would just shrug it off saying,a few hundred to one girl to guy ratio more than made up for our jokes! This all sounded good to us,but the truth of the matter was that he succeeded in a high class school and paid alot of his own tuition throughout his high school session... Show me someone with that kinda dedication at his age in life,not to mention a roughneck die hard cowboy to boot,and I'll more than happily lift my hat to them with the utter most respect... To continue the story,there was a horse show that summer we both had to attend with granddad,in Dillsburg PA. at an equine facility called the"Diamond 7"ranch... I had to ride "Reno",a horse that we took to compete in that particular APHA event,and Jason came to help out with the never ending pre-show preparations and to enjoy that kinda atmosphere that we so much appreciate... Later on that day we ended up meeting two girls that gave us an after show get-together invitation that we ultimately ended up missing.
But as fate had it,we met up the next day to get their phone numbers,and finding out that they were family to the owners of the Diamond 7!
A few weeks later we decided to go back and get to know those female friends,being that it was a great excuse for new faces and a road trip!
That was the first time that we had the chance to be on our own and really get to know each other once and for all...After that day,I cant remember a day that we weren't planning some sort of adventure...We even ran the,"Dave Martin" rodeo circuit for a while with the Bullmania tour of 2002,turning out to be one of our fondest memories together...Another great memory of our duo,was Jason's two horses,"Punk" and "Prince",that we often painted the local town"Stuarts Draft" with on a regular basis, tying down for a coffee at 7-11 and riding through the drive through window at Hardies.
Once during the 4th of July,running though an apartment complex with a beer in one hand and saddle horn in the other yelling "The Red Coats Are coming!"
Even though it seems like Ive written allot of words here,truth is I feel I couldn't say enough about him or how much I'll miss not having such an amazing friend as he was...I have no doubt were he is now,but its just human nature I suppose to be selfish and want more of his companionship on earth...If only "ifs"and "could ofs" were a factor of life,I would have gladly taken his place at anytime in Iraq just so I would have known that he was safe at home were he was so loved and respected by all that truly knew who he was as "The Man" he was in the teenager's body...
Never shall I know another like him,nor shall I ever try to find a replacement for a friend like Jason,that simply cant be replaced in any way,shape,or form...
Jason left me with his horse,but most importantly with us all,the valuable lessons in life that consist of what it takes to be a man of stature,a true friend,and to never take what you've been given in life for granted,since it can all be gone without a warning in a blink of an eye... The main purpose of this story is to express how proud I am to have been a part of Jason's life and a friendship that I will never forget...
Jason always said at the end of our trail rides,
"We'll Ride Again"
And one day we shall...
Josh L.
In Loving Memory to my Best Friend
Lance Cpl. Jason Redifer
USMC