From Randy

Randy Smiley      

On May 7, 2013 I lost Randy Smiley.  He was my brother and my best friend.  Shortly after Randy's death I also lost his domain name, "Fictionforall.com," and thus lost the website holding my blog, "Mac's Back Porch Fiction."  Unfortunately, Randy forgot to leave me his passwords, and someone snatched up the domain name before I tried to register it in my name.  So for the third time I am starting a new blog for my fiction and non-political articles.  That does not matter much, but I regret losing Randy's writings and the website he created.  To give you an idea of what a great person he was I have included below a statement he left for us.

Hi all:

I wanted to leave you with my view of life. Don't worry, it's not that long. Those of you who knew my father knew the hardest working man ever. And he expected me to be like that. What he got instead was someone who was as stubborn about being himself as he was. I take pride in the fact that, while I was respectful of others, I was always true to myself. I did the things I wanted to do, and I did them as best I could. Very few of the things I did were that successful, but that did not matter much because I was happy doing them. I know I was a spoiled brat. I'm proud of all the high tempered brats everywhere, they are my army. Unlike my father, I'm lazy. In my defense, I think my heart had a lot to do with that from the very beginning. Come on, people! I felt perfectly normal with only a 25% ejection (65% is what is normal). So I was fighting to live; it's what I had to do for a very long time.

The thing I look back on with the greatest satisfaction is not any accomplishment, award, pat on the back, or money I made; it's the laughter. My fondest moments involve sharing the laughter with all of you. My fondest memories with my family are of watching cartoons on Saturday mornings and laughing 'till the milk shot out our noses. My friends were masters of the craft of pushing that special button to make me laugh at the irony and the pain. Laurel and Hardy, Chuck Jones, Douglas Adams, and PG Wodehouse were my favorites and the treasures of my life.

I would love to have been a great man. I would have loved rocking the world. But I've come to realize that like drops in the ocean, most of us will leave no mark on this world and I'm OK with that. I have no words of advice for you other than to cherish each other and laugh. Laugh out-loud as hard and as long as you can with everyone who will laugh with you. We might not be able to rock this world, but let us rock the heavens with our laughter.

The one thing I learned from my father's death is that closure is very important. What I want is for you to do your thing and leave me here. This is your day not mine. This is your closure!

Good bye all. Live well with no regrets. What is done is done!

Love 
Randy

Rest In Peace Smiley Man West.  We love you and miss you, but we will be all right.  We will even laugh again.