Hard to say Goodbye - J.D. Ratliff

J.D. Ratliff  

(John Durwood Ratliff - 23)
1987-2011

Sometimes nothing prepares you for what life has planned. Earlier this week I found out that my friend J.D. passed away. It was sudden and unexpected and left all who knew him stunned in the wake.

J.D. and I met back in middle school. Things were not always easy. Both of us faced issues with our peers who felt the need to put us down, that was something we had in common, and it made us grow together. We went to church together and would sit on the swings after dinner or choir and talk, sometimes until it got dark. 

We were both geeks or nerds or what ever you want to call it. J.D. was incredibly smart and I was always happy to have him as a lab partner in our science class.

By the time we went to high school we were separated by schools. J.D. went to Brook Road while I went to Tucker. We still saw each other at church occasionally and when we did it was always great to catch up. We still sat on the swings and talked about what was going on, what mutual friends were up to, and what games we were currently obsessed with. When we graduated high school, we again went different ways. I was headed to Christopher Newport University, he was going to the Marines.

I remember going to church over Christmas break, and to my surprise, seeing him sitting in his uniform in the pew. he looked so different without the long hair he'd grown out prior to going into the marines, but the smile was still the same. We stood in the hall as long as we could after church and talked about everything, his station, my school, new friends, where he'd be going next and we traded numbers and promised to hang out sometime, he'd call when we'd be back in town. We never got to hang out again.

Over a year passed since that day when we promised to meet again. My Mom called me to tell me he was gone. Nothing could have prepared me... 

We'll keep our promise. I'll see J.D. one more time when he comes back to Virginia, although this time it will be the last for some time. It will be the day he is laid to rest. We will still have our day to meet again, when one day I join him at our father's house and we can walk side by side again. 

J.D., you were always a good friend, and I hope I've always done right by you. I know you are looking down on us, telling us not to cry, but it's not the same without you. The world is a little dimmer without your smile to light it up.