On occasion, I run into someone who likes my weekly articles, and the same goes for those who do not. Thankfully, the likes outnumber the nots at this stage. When I first started writing, a neighbor, Troy Hunt, walked down to tell me that he enjoyed the column. He became my #1 fan.
Troy was pals with two friends of mine from Alaska, Don and Mike Lowe. The two brothers lived directly across the street from Troy. My late father’s first name is Troy; Troy Hunt is the second person I know with this name.
I took a liking to Hunt because he was a personable individual, mischievous in a good way, and ornery at times. One summer, Troy hurt his foot and could hardly get around, with a friend lending him one of those battery-powered mobile carts.
A clever mechanic, Troy somehow hot-rodded the device, and it was common to see him zipping up the street, then across 95 to a convenience store. I believe he even drove it to Bashas on occasion.
On New Year’s and Fourth of July, and any holiday in between, Troy could be counted on to send up commercial-grade fireworks. The brilliant display illuminated the desert around us, but also scared the neighborhood dogs. I discussed this with Troy, who excitedly told me that he loved fireworks. During my intervention, he agreed to curtail things for the dogs.
Months would go by, and out of the blue, the house would shake, with another impromptu missile launched late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. Things would then go quiet, with me suspecting Troy was the culprit but never able to prove it. This went on for perhaps three years until Troy Hunt decided to move.
On that moving day, he came to the house and apologized for being such a nuisance, and admitted to the mysterious fireworks. I told him that I accepted his apology, but I wasn’t so sure about the area canines, including ours, Simon.
I ran into Troy on occasion, usually at a store, and he always mentioned the Sunday column and urged me to keep it up. I needed that praise because I wasn’t sure if I was doing a good enough job, with my wife being the main person critiquing things, and she could be considered biased.
Don and Mike Lowe have since passed away. Regency Drive has lost a slew of others, some friends, some acquaintances. Several of them voluntarily moved, like Troy, but a couple of neighbors have died, such as Robert English, Nick Vidas, and his wife, Diane. Our neighborhood is still a great place to live with many good folks moving in, yet it’s also not the same.
Last week, I mentioned to my wife, while we were at Rotary Park enjoying a cup of coffee, that it’d been a while since we’d bumped into Troy. I couldn’t imagine him leaving because I knew that he loved this town.
Today, we received word from a good friend of his that Troy passed away, believed to be from a heart attack. Only in his early 60s, the man was much too young for that. Lynn told us that Troy had been attending church with her for the past year, which I was glad to hear.
I knew that he hadn’t left Calvary on either Saturday or Sunday, without Pastor Chad, Pastor Robert, or Pastor Peter showing him how to reach Heaven through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Hopefully, Troy made that life change decision and is now in a better place. I also have to wonder if Heaven will have a fireworks display like that spectacular one seen at Sara Park just recently. If so, I believe my late friend Troy Hunt will be leading it all.
I like to write junk... 