Growing up in what I felt like was the “middle of nowhere”
and having very little connection to the outside world, there was a voice that
I could listen to that would make me feel a little hope for escaping the middle
of nowhere. When I first stumbled upon this voice some might say I was a little
young, or that the voice covered too mature content for my sensitive ears. Maybe they were right but the voice brought
hope and happiness to me. Like clockwork
I could tune in and listen to laughter and jokes but there were almost always a
heartfelt story or life lesson covered.
This voice become a central part of my life, one that I looked up to,
one that made me want to spread my wings and fly, one that made me long for the
closeness that I felt when I listened.
For as long as I can remember I could turn this voice on and be taken
away from the everyday worries or struggles.
Growing up I felt as though this voice was one that I needed to do my
best and pray that I would live up to his expectations. The funny thing is…I never once met this
voice. Even though almost every day the
voice was part of my life, I never had the pleasure of meeting the person
behind this voice. The voice that I’m
talking about belonged to Kidd Kraddick. He was a morning DJ that found his way
into my world along with some of his partners in crime. I felt like he was an Uncle that lived far
way, one that I could share my thoughts and dreams with, one that lived in the
world to make people feel better, one who shared his trials and happy stories
about life, one that would give you the shirt off his back, and one who would
tell you to get a grip and just do it.
On Saturday, July 27, 2013, he died…doing what he loved, raising money
for his Kidds Kids Foundation. I hope he
is up in heaven dancing and laughing with all the kids that passed away that
were part of his foundation. It is still
hard to believe that he is gone, that I’ll never get to hear him tell another
story or him make me laugh so hard that I cry.
I’m glad the internet is amazing and I can pull up clips and videos of
him, even though it will not be the same.
I could go on for days about how much this man has been a part of my
life, as strange as it may be since I never met him. Though I am going to end it by saying what
Kidd said…”Keep Looking Up”
