I’m about an hour away from heading to my good friend Ryan Reed’s wedding.  Reed is one of those friends who I don’t see very much anymore, but still always feel close to when we do catch up.  I’ll never forget meeting him on my first day of school at Kent-Meridian.  I was a junior, and had just transferred, and that first class, spanish with Senora Curtise (we all had a crush on her) and here was this tall and gangly guy who was outgoing and making everyone laugh as he danced around the class.  He sat next to another guy who had a big collared sweater that he reportedly tucked in.  I remember thinking “man these guys must be the coolest guys in the school.”

Well I was right, kind of.  I don’t know if they were the coolest guys in the school, but they ended up being two of my best friends in life.  Ryan Reed was on the golf team with me and the number of rounds we played together and the number of times we jokingly made Tin Cup references (and still do) can’t be counted.

To this day, I’ve never seen Ryan walk into a room and people not be happy to see him.  He has a personality and magnetism that instantly draw you to him.  His sense of humor is one of the things I cherish most about him.  He loves to fish, and claims to be good at it (I’ve never seen him actually catch anything.) He loves his steaks bloody (he taught me that a real man doesn’t eat his steak anything above medium) and he loves his Huskies.

Oddly enough, one of my fondest moments of Ryan was from the day my dad died.  I had called my mom and some family members, and I called Ryan to tell him, as he knew my dad and he was one of my best friends.  Ryan was busy doing something, I could tell the way he answered.  I told him what happened and he immediately said “I’ll come right over.”  I always think of that, because even though we don’t see each other that much anymore, I think we both would drop almost anything in our lives if the other needed something.  I have a lot of love for Ryan Reed.  A lot.  He’s kind of a cool guy.

Me and Reeeed circa 2010 in Portland

Me and Robert at Emerald Downs, 2009

Wanted to wish a very happy birthday to my friend Robert Geller.  Robert is the announcer at Emerald Downs (and Sunland Park) and has been since Emerald opened in 1996.  I remember asking my dad when I was 15, “Is Gary Henson gonna announce at the new track?”  He replied no, that instead they “hired some Australian guy.”  I remember being bummed, because Gary Henson was my favorite.  But I liked Robert’s personality and calls right away.  I still remember when I got hired by Emerald Downs in 2004 to work in the media office, the coolest part of the job was getting to meet Robert.  He was as nice as he seems on air.  I remember by the end of the year, I had been practicing announcing all spring in the suites next to the media office, and asked Robert if he’d listen to my tape.  He immediately said yes and listened to my tape (which was probably awful).  He immediately was supportive and said to keep practicing.  Getting that message to continue on from him gave me a new lease on practicing and being excited about announcing and someday breaking into the business.  Robert’s always been a supporter of mine and more importantly, has become a good friend.  His character and talent still amaze me and he’s beloved by so many of us racing fans in the Northwest.  A happy birthday to him and many many more!