Please allow me to digress. Not just in this post, but from the Order of the Taco for a moment. On October 17, a founding member of the Order of the Taco lost his wife after a vicious fight with cancer. She was not just the wife of one of our members, she was the sister of another and a loving best friend to all of us in the Order. I write this just to get a story out about a great person who we all loved, learned from and will really miss, though I know she will never leave us.
I've known Krissy since 2001 when we worked together at Macaroni Grill. Little did I know then that she would be such a big part of my life years later. She started dating one of my best friends from childhood and still to this day, Christopher Randall. I'll never forget when Chris called me to tell me he was standing there about to buy an engagement ring. I literally had just chased a homeless guy out of the restaurant that I was running in Nashville. We talked about it for a while. We hung up and he called me telling me how it was done, the ring was in his pocket. It was such an exciting feeling knowing that a great friend, a great guy had realized that the woman of his dreams was in front of him, and he wasn't letting her go. Time sped up, he proposed and they were kind enough to allow me to stand on the altar as one of their groomsmen. What a damn great day. Chris was a beautiful groom and Krissy was an amazing bride. If she couldn't get any better, she was a great sports fan and loves Dodger baseball!
Krissy had been battling cancer like a knight slaying a dragon since 2001. She repeatedly one battles. We all hated to see her go through this fight, but that is not what this story is about.
Krissy was pretty amazing. She always did what she wanted when she wanted. You knew if she was talking to you, she wanted to. You knew if she was at your house, she wanted to be there. I never found myself at a party or gathering without being in the corner snickering with her. We'd crack jokes about everything and everyone. She brought so much life to a party. If you were new to the group, new to an event, she was the first person to say hello to you. She never wanted anyone to feel left out unless she felt they deserved it. How damn fair is that? I love that about her. What a lesson. There wasn't any being fake with Krissy. We'd often exchange text messages about nothing and everything. Whether it was making fun of someone or just cracking a joke about meaningless stuff, it was always great. We'd talk about tacos. Man that was fun for me. What a great taco palate this girl had. She knew her stuff. We'd share ideas of places, joke about bad ones and sneak tacos into an event or two if they were silly enough to invite me and not have any.
Her family is amazing. Her brother Brandon and I became immediate friends. I could search every corner of the earth and not find a better fit for a friend. Brandon is all over my blogs. He is another founding member of the Order of the Taco. Down to earth great dude that loves his sister. I can never thank her for introducing us to each other and integrating Brandon into the awesome network of friends that we all are. He's done nothing but make the group better. Tim, Cindy. Those are two amazing,strong parents. I was out of town when Krissy took her last breath and all I've heard was how Cindy was consoling the people around her. What? A mother? Yeah, one amazing mother. Cindy and Tim are two of the nicest, coolest damn people I've ever met.
I was crushed not being there or being closer. I rushed to get from San Diego to LA to be able to see everyone. Feelings of guilt overwhelm you when you know your close friends are hurting and you are not there to be the friend that you want to be. I felt like I was making good time, Dolly and I were on the move until a little motorcycle wreck on the 405 slowed us. I will always wonder if I didn't have a little extra someone watching me as I was hauling ass up the freeway. It should have been bad. Really bad. I blew a tire, went down, kicked my bike back up and went down on the other side. I have a few scratches, cuts and swelling, but really am not at all hurt. Dolly is ok, she is going to spend a few days in Long Beach at the closest motorcycle shop I could find getting fixed back up. Krissy, thanks for making sure that I got to your party safe.
Yeah, I said party. That is part of what defines Krissy to all of us when we think about it. Krissy truly lived it. She didn't go to parties, she took them with her. Hard to find her without a bottle of wine stashed into her purse. She said she never wanted a funeral, just a party. BJ's restaurant came through big for Krissy. A little over a week before her passing Dimitri Iokiam, another great friend of ours, headed a charge for fighting cancer. He helped organize a fundraiser where a percentage of the profits from two separate locations would be donated in Krissy's name to find a cure for this retched disease. This has been on all of our calendar since we heard about it. People came out in masses, and I mean masses. Krissy knew about it before she passed. She planned her own victory party. It was a distraction for all of us from the pain we felt for losing her. A toast to a great life from a great woman. I was fortunate enough to get some quality time with Chris and our great friend Bucky. Chris said it perfectly, "I have no regrets, we did everything that we wanted together and always had fun." The fun continued in a different way. As I looked around the restaurant, I know Krissy was there. She stepped into every conversation and was a part of each table. She sipped white wine, toasted with champagne and was flattered by all of the kind words spoken about her. That clever girl threw herself one heck of a party and we all really enjoyed it. Everyone was buying each other food, drinks, talking sharing stories, amazing evening.
One page, paragraph, blog or letter does not encompass all that this person did for all of us. There are so many stories, thoughts, feelings, people that I've left out of this little blog. I see all the pictures everyone is posting on Facebook and that is just not me, this is, so thanks for reading. I've got a whole set of friends I'd never have without Krissy. I am so excited to see them when we are all around, really everywhere that I go. Krissy, you will be missed. Your love, compassion and zest for life is a lesson that we all need to remember. Do what you want, with who you want, when you want. Don't over think, enjoy those around you and enjoy doing it. Thank you for bringing so many great people together in so many ways. We are going to take care of Chris and Brandon and make sure that we do all we can to be there for them. Thanks for being strong for all of us. Now go punch something with your left arm! I know that you always did and always will, so Stay Excellent.
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