Aric would phone for Dave and would end up talking to me for an hour before I passed the phone over. At over 6 1/2 feet tall I caught a glimpse of him hugging me in a mirrored window as he and Dave dropped me off for a conference. It still makes me smile. I always felt like a little kid when he did that and since he was well over a foot taller than me I looked like it too. One of the qualities that I admired most in Aric was integrity, and this is where he has had the strongest affect on my life. Aric lived according to his own conscience. Recently, I have had a personal conflict in my life and I would have given just about anything for one last visit with Aric. He would never tell someone what to do. I made the choice to live in integrity even though some of the people closest to me strongly disagree with what I have done.
I love how he saw past all pretence and tradition and just lived an authentic and practical life. I love how he chose to love a woman with character and substance. I love how he was truthful in all things. He did things because he believed in them and because it fit with his values. He believed in justice and equality for all and was intelligent and well read. He was genuine, true and saw things for what they were. He is a person I aspire to be like.Here are some words from his journal that say more or less what he stood for:
RUMINATIONS, 1997:
Get over it
The past is gone -
Choose your baggage carefully!
Don't be trapped by
- Convention
- Tradition
- Dependence
- Dogma
- Tradition
- Dependence
- Dogma
I wish I could talk to him just one more time. And maybe take him for a drive.
