Wes and I were good friends way back when we were both little kids, I was very sad to hear of his passing. We only saw each other a few times a year because he lived far away so it was a special occasion when we did get to hang out. He always had the coolest toys and video games that he would bring with him when he visited. He had the new TurboGrafx-16 console when all my other friends had a Nintendo or Sega. He was very street-wise and 'hip', I was always impressed by his tales from the big city.
I will never forget the time that he came to my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary at the VFW hall. He was wearing a powder blue Adidas tracksuit and white terrycloth bucket hat, quite the contrast to others in their church clothes. There was a DJ and Wes asked if he'd play a song off a CD that we had been listening to earlier. The song was "Stayin' Alive" but it was the Wyclef Jean rap remix, not the Bee Gees classic. Wes then proceeded to cut a frickin' rug on the dance floor all by himself, it was like something out of a movie! Keep in mind the average age of the people at this function would have been well north of 50, and this was the 90s when rap music wasn't played on the radio or at the Super Bowl. The DJ played the whole song, much to the chagrin of the crowd, but he promptly went back to the classic '70s country ballads as soon as it was done. Wes was the kind of guy who could be the life of the party, even at an old folks wedding anniversary.
We didn't keep in touch as we grew up, but I saw him a few times randomly and he was always the same guy: wisecracking, cooler than me, and a genuine friend. My heart goes out to Diane, I'm so sorry for your loss.
