Looking for Buoys

For the past few weeks, a good friend of mine from high school was on my mind. His name is Randy Adams. He was best man in our wedding and lives with his wife Sally and three boys in North Carolina. We grew up together from elementary school to college at Miami University. We were both in the same fraternity, Sigma Nu and even ran for House Commander (President) against each other. We don't talk often, but like most good friends, don't have trouble getting into an easy flow in a few minutes.

I took the opportunity to call Randy yesterday and we caught up for about 20 minutes. During the call, he told me about the death of his nephew in February in an auto accident in Indiana. It's a terrible story, but one that I read about at the time but didn't put the pieces together. It turns out that Randy's nephew, Mark (Reedy) was traveling as a passenger with Brendan Burke, the son of the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager. Brendan was also the student manager of Miami University's hockey team. Sports Illustrated had a touching article on him and his dad soon after the accident. The name of the other young man killed was lost on me until yesterday.

As I read Mark's obituary and articles in the local press from his hometown, I was immediately brought back to my high school days. He went to the same middle school and high school that Randy and I did. He was the top diver in Oakland County and state runner-up. He has a wonderful family and was loved by them and many. Such a tragedy. Mark was 18 when he died.

How often does it happen that we don't get the whole story? We see the headline, something draws us to an article, but we really don't dig deep for the details. So often in business and in life, there are buoys to guide us if only we look. Why is it when we decide to buy a brown sports car, we notice how many brown sports cars are on the road? The more we're open to look deeper-the more our lives will be enriched and we'll achieve the results that we're looking for.

I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Mark Reedy, but I know his parents. He did a lot of living and achieving in his life. Perhaps that's his legacy for those he left behind. Make the most out of life and look for the buoys that God puts in our way.