Last night I was practicing guitar so I could play "Silent Night" for a group of women at the request of my wife when I received an important text message. One of my good friends, Dusty Boren, passed away yesterday. That is one of those messages you don't want to receive in a text but it is the quickest way to let a large number of people know about an event in a very short amount of time. Dusty's health has been in decline for the past year or so and so the news was not unexpected.
Dusty was born about 2 months before me and so we are the same age. I first met Dusty and honestly avoided him. He had Down's Syndrome. I didn't have much experience with it and felt uncomfortable around him. That didn't keep him from coming up to me and proclaiming that I was his buddy. I quickly realized that I didn't need to be uncomfortable around Dusty and to just return the kindness and friendship he showed me. Needless to say we quickly became good friends and have remained such over the past decade or so.
Most people with Down's Syndrome struggle with weight but Dusty was an exception. He made sure not to overeat and always got out for exercise. That means he would come by my house daily either by walking or riding his bike. When I was not at home, my wife would tell me he stopped by. When I was at home, I would sit down on the front steps and share 5 or 10 minutes with him before he continued his walk or bicycle ride. Sometimes I would help him fix a flat tire or pump one up that needed a bit more air.
Some of my favorite memories with Dusty are when we went skiing together. Every year he attended the Steve Young Classic held at Snowbird. This is an event where Steve Young invited a bunch of sports celebrities to lift the spirits of people with any type of disability. During the ski race, Dusty always seemed to win and everyone made a big deal out of it. That was a lot of fun but the most fun I had during those events is when I took Dusty on the chairlift further up the mountain. Dusty skied very well given that he only went once a year. He even braved Snowbird's half-pipe and did amazing. The half-pipe is my favorite memory of skiing with him and has me smiling as I type this.
The physical limitations placed upon him during his mortal life probably brought a lot of heartache to his parents and family. They didn't bother Dusty one bit. He always seemed happy and his smile was contagious. May we all be a bit like Dusty and forget our trials so that we lift those around us and put a smile on everyone's faces.
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