Betsy, Alicia, and Me
Today marks the 2 year anniversary of the passing of my best friend Betsy. I received a phone call at work that Betsy had a seizure while she was sleeping and passed away.
Betsy and I met at Lipscomb. She was an RA in Elam. We lived down the hall from each other. Our friendship grew from her checking my room at curfew. I can’t tell you how many times she would check my room and forget to finish room check because we would just start chatting.
My senior year in college I was an RA in Yearwood. My head resident was none other than Judy Mitchell. One night Betsy and I went to a hockey game with Brett and Judy. This was during the time when Amy Grant was getting a divorce from her husband and Vince Gill was getting a divorce from his wife because Amy and Vince had an affair together. Amy Grant walks out onto the ice to sing the National Anthem and Judy yells from the nosebleed section “HOOKER!” It was absolutely hilarious. Betsy and I started laughing and I think we stopped laughing sometime during the second period. Ever since that night Betsy and I called each other “Hooker.” It was a term of endearment. The term eventually evolved into another phrase that Betsy “Hooker” Rachal would say, “Are you being Hookerific?” We never signed cards with our real names but with Hooker Rachal or Hooker Woods.
Betsy and I lived 2 houses down from each other the summer after I graduated. We said that we had the best job in the world but the benefits sucked. We were both unemployed which meant we were both broke. Every night Betsy and I would make a Kroger run to buy Kroger cheesy bread and a marble sheet cake. We would come back to my apartment to enjoy our treats and watch A League of Their Own. We would watch this movie every night because like clockwork Betsy would ALWAYS fall asleep during the movie. It didn’t matter if we started at 7:00 or 11:00, Betsy was going to fall asleep. Betsy never found out how the movie ended. Every time I watch A League of Their Own I always think back to that summer and how much fun we had even though we were broke.
Betsy like to run, actually, she loved to run. She loved it so much that she ran the Country Music Half Marathon in 2004. In 2005 she tried to convince me to run it with her. I couldn’t train with her due to my schedule but I promised her that no matter what I would run the 2006 Half Marathon with her. Betsy died in 2005 so I never got to run with her. So, when it came time to start training for the 2006 Half Marathon I knew I had to run the race because I promised her the year before that “no matter what I would run the 2006 Half Marathon.” I recruited 7 other people who were friends with Betsy and we became Team Betsy. By the time race day rolled around there were 4 of us that ran for Betsy – Me, Keri, Meridy, and Nathan. It was a hard race due to the emotions we were all dealing with but Betsy was with us. My time was the exact same time Betsy ran in her first race in 2004 and Keri and Meridy’s time was the same time that Betsy ran in her 2005 race. How strange is that!! Betsy was absolutely with us that day.
Nathan, Meridy, Keri and Me after the 2006 Country Music Half Marathon
Betsy and I met at Lipscomb. She was an RA in Elam. We lived down the hall from each other. Our friendship grew from her checking my room at curfew. I can’t tell you how many times she would check my room and forget to finish room check because we would just start chatting.
My senior year in college I was an RA in Yearwood. My head resident was none other than Judy Mitchell. One night Betsy and I went to a hockey game with Brett and Judy. This was during the time when Amy Grant was getting a divorce from her husband and Vince Gill was getting a divorce from his wife because Amy and Vince had an affair together. Amy Grant walks out onto the ice to sing the National Anthem and Judy yells from the nosebleed section “HOOKER!” It was absolutely hilarious. Betsy and I started laughing and I think we stopped laughing sometime during the second period. Ever since that night Betsy and I called each other “Hooker.” It was a term of endearment. The term eventually evolved into another phrase that Betsy “Hooker” Rachal would say, “Are you being Hookerific?” We never signed cards with our real names but with Hooker Rachal or Hooker Woods.
Betsy and I lived 2 houses down from each other the summer after I graduated. We said that we had the best job in the world but the benefits sucked. We were both unemployed which meant we were both broke. Every night Betsy and I would make a Kroger run to buy Kroger cheesy bread and a marble sheet cake. We would come back to my apartment to enjoy our treats and watch A League of Their Own. We would watch this movie every night because like clockwork Betsy would ALWAYS fall asleep during the movie. It didn’t matter if we started at 7:00 or 11:00, Betsy was going to fall asleep. Betsy never found out how the movie ended. Every time I watch A League of Their Own I always think back to that summer and how much fun we had even though we were broke.
Betsy like to run, actually, she loved to run. She loved it so much that she ran the Country Music Half Marathon in 2004. In 2005 she tried to convince me to run it with her. I couldn’t train with her due to my schedule but I promised her that no matter what I would run the 2006 Half Marathon with her. Betsy died in 2005 so I never got to run with her. So, when it came time to start training for the 2006 Half Marathon I knew I had to run the race because I promised her the year before that “no matter what I would run the 2006 Half Marathon.” I recruited 7 other people who were friends with Betsy and we became Team Betsy. By the time race day rolled around there were 4 of us that ran for Betsy – Me, Keri, Meridy, and Nathan. It was a hard race due to the emotions we were all dealing with but Betsy was with us. My time was the exact same time Betsy ran in her first race in 2004 and Keri and Meridy’s time was the same time that Betsy ran in her 2005 race. How strange is that!! Betsy was absolutely with us that day.
Nathan, Meridy, Keri and Me after the 2006 Country Music Half Marathon
Betsy was the person that knew exactly what I was thinking before I ever said it. She knew me better than anyone else in the world. Betsy and I had been through a lot over the years. Betsy taught me a lot about life and about myself. I think that I get some of my personality from her. She taught my how to enjoy life and to look for silver lining in a bad situation. She taught me that the clouds don’t stick around forever – the sun will eventually shine and above all God always has you in his hands.
After I received the phone call at work that Betsy had died, I left and went to Laura’s house – which is where everyone was meeting. I left Laura’s house around 10:00 and headed home. On my way home I checked my voicemail on my house phone. I had two new messages. Both of the voicemails were from Betsy! Betsy called me at 9:00 p.m. on Monday night. She left two messages because the voicemail she left was so long it cut her off. Can you guess what the first sentence out of her mouth was? “Hooker! Are you being Hookerific?” We were told that they estimated she died around 10:00 p.m. – an hour after she left me my messages. It was so weird to hear her voice again knowing that I would never hear it again. I still have those two voicemails saved. Betsy always told me that she had one fear – having a seizure when she alone because she might die. I know that I couldn’t have saved her even if I had been on the phone with her that night but at least she would not have died alone. There is still some guilt that I carry with me and I probably always will. Why couldn’t I have been home when she called that Monday night??!!!??
It’s been a tough two years. Two years ago part of my heart died when Betsy left this world. I still feel lonely and lost from time to time without her. I miss having her around. I miss having a partner in crime that knows everything about me by looking into my eyes. I have not been back to the cemetery since the funeral. I’m just not ready. I still struggle with trying to move on without her because I can’t seem to make my heart understand (or my mind) that moving on doesn’t mean that I don’t love her anymore or that I’m going to forget her. For all of you who knew Betsy you know how much your life was blessed by knowing her.
Hooker Rachal,
I still love you dearly and miss you more and more each day. It’s been two years and I just can’t seem to grasp the fact that I’ll never have another 3 hour phone conversation with you. You brought so much joy and laughter into my life. I know that I will see you again some day and I am looking forward to the day that I look up and see you standing at the gate waiting to greet me. I love you, forever!
Hooker Woods
This song came out not too long after Betsy died and it sums it all up for me.
Who You’d Be Today
Kenny Chesney
Sunny days seem to hurt the most.
After I received the phone call at work that Betsy had died, I left and went to Laura’s house – which is where everyone was meeting. I left Laura’s house around 10:00 and headed home. On my way home I checked my voicemail on my house phone. I had two new messages. Both of the voicemails were from Betsy! Betsy called me at 9:00 p.m. on Monday night. She left two messages because the voicemail she left was so long it cut her off. Can you guess what the first sentence out of her mouth was? “Hooker! Are you being Hookerific?” We were told that they estimated she died around 10:00 p.m. – an hour after she left me my messages. It was so weird to hear her voice again knowing that I would never hear it again. I still have those two voicemails saved. Betsy always told me that she had one fear – having a seizure when she alone because she might die. I know that I couldn’t have saved her even if I had been on the phone with her that night but at least she would not have died alone. There is still some guilt that I carry with me and I probably always will. Why couldn’t I have been home when she called that Monday night??!!!??
It’s been a tough two years. Two years ago part of my heart died when Betsy left this world. I still feel lonely and lost from time to time without her. I miss having her around. I miss having a partner in crime that knows everything about me by looking into my eyes. I have not been back to the cemetery since the funeral. I’m just not ready. I still struggle with trying to move on without her because I can’t seem to make my heart understand (or my mind) that moving on doesn’t mean that I don’t love her anymore or that I’m going to forget her. For all of you who knew Betsy you know how much your life was blessed by knowing her.
Hooker Rachal,
I still love you dearly and miss you more and more each day. It’s been two years and I just can’t seem to grasp the fact that I’ll never have another 3 hour phone conversation with you. You brought so much joy and laughter into my life. I know that I will see you again some day and I am looking forward to the day that I look up and see you standing at the gate waiting to greet me. I love you, forever!
Hooker Woods
This song came out not too long after Betsy died and it sums it all up for me.
Who You’d Be Today
Kenny Chesney
Sunny days seem to hurt the most.
I wear the pain like a heavy coat.
I feel you everywhere I go.
I see your smile, I see your face,
I hear you laughin' in the rain.
I still can't believe you're gone.
I hear you laughin' in the rain.
I still can't believe you're gone.
It ain't fair: you died too young,
Like the story that had just begun,
But death tore the pages all away.
God knows how I miss you,
All the hell that I've been through,
Just knowin' no-one could take your place.
An' sometimes I wonder,Who'd you be today?
Would you see the world?
Would you chase your dreams?
Settle down with a family,
I wonder what would you name your babies?
Some days the sky's so blue,I feel like I can talk to you,
An' I know it might sound crazy.
It ain't fair: you died too young,
Like the story that had just begun,
But death tore the pages all away.
God knows how I miss you,
All the hell that I've been through,
All the hell that I've been through,
Just knowin' no-one could take your place.
An' sometimes I wonder,Who'd you be today?
Sunny days seem to hurt the most.
I wear the pain like a heavy coat.
The only thing that gives me hope,
Is I know I'll see you again some day.
Hooker – I will see you again some day!!
To all of my friends,
Thank you all for being there for me during the past two years. I know that in the beginning there were times I know you felt as though you were "babysitting" me but thank you for always being there. Thank you all for helping me during one of the darkest times of my life. I love you all!
1 comments:
I still remember sitting in the airport when you phoned to tell me what happened... she is still missed, but you are honouring her memory through this post, and every other hookerific story...
love you Betsy!
(and love you too Lester Molester!)
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