“The Golden Years”

When a person dies, those of us left behind struggle to use words and phrases that make the loss easier to manage.  We may say things like “passed away, deceased, gone home to Glory, gone to a better place, God called him home”.  These descriptive and appropriate words may ease the pain, but the fact remains that we’ve lost a cherished person in our lives. 

I lost a cherished childhood friend recently.  Out of respect for his family I will refer to him as “Cov”, which was the nickname given to him by his boyhood buddies, myself included.  He referred to me as “Hamilton”, a play on my boyhood nickname of “Ham” (don’t ask…if you only knew how I got this name…).  Cov grew up with the rest of our peers in Bywater (you know!) in the “Golden Years”.  This is the era between 1972 and 1990.  This is when the community was establishing its identity.  Specifically from 1976 to 1985.These years split three distinct times: OGs (1972-1980), Bywater Crew (1978-1985) and Bywater Hustlers (1986-1995)

Cov was part of the Bywater Crew,  the teens who were in high school between ’80 and ’85. These were my peers and let me tell you (because you just don’t know!), these were some of the coolest, baddest, nicest, purest, got-your-back, ride or die brothers you EVER gonna find in any fuckin’ neighborhood.  Real talk!  We were mentored by the OGs. Out of respect for their privacy I won’t name them, but man I want to. They protected us, taught us, supported us and showed us tough love.  Many of us were raised by single moms and needed ANY male guidance we could get.  We got good ones. Boy the stories I could tell! 

Cov learned his lessons well. He was the first of the crew with a license and a car.  Need a ride to the party down Crow’s Nest?  Cov got EVERYBODY. Ride in town? Cov got EVERYBODY. Ride down Robinwood?  Cov got EVERYBODY.  Ride out Parole? Yep, Cov got you!  Cov was the first with Atari. We all came to play.  You the party type? Cov could get it started.  Good hearted brother for sure.  To be honest we knew how to find mischief when necessary too…one year I got a video camera and movie projector for my birthday.  Any fellas or ladies remember the “movie nights” at my house..? I’m not talking

Cov and I lost touch in the mid eighties.  I hadn’t seen him in about 30 years when one day out of nowhere I ran into him in a local store.  We walked right past each other and paused at about the same time.  We turned to each other, said our “what’s ups” and began to talk. Convo went straight to Bywater, the Golden Years…..

Fitting.  Cov was living in his Golden Years when God called him home. I heard that his health had been failing recently. I cannot speak to who he became in his later years because we hadn’t talked. But I KNOW where he came from.  I KNOW where he started.  I KNOW he was one of the good ones in “The Bywater Crew”.  The Golden Years.  RIP Cov………