Kevin Lawson was a close friend of mine and a good person with a kind soul. Together we were like fuel and spark. We were adventurers, we were invincible and anything was possible. We were also prone to mischief. Kevin and I enabled each other to take things over the limit. We used to hang out so much that one point a local judge issued an order that we weren’t to be within 100 yards of each other. I have many of memories of Kevin and will always miss him and his enthusiasm for life. Memories that include a mix tape of classic rock (Labeled Hippy Shit) that we would listen to every time we would go up Mt. Lemmon. I remember getting into a food and soda fight with him in the cab of his truck that we could never fully get cleaned out. Kevin liked Led Zeppelin but I recall he hated the song Stairway to heaven… One day he bought the AC/DC album “Who made who” and played it over and over again until I was about crazy. The cemetery was one of our favorite places and we spent a lot of time walking around and talking. I think it was the calm nature and the tall trees and grass. Hours would go by in the blink of an eye. I remember sneaking out in the middle of the night to go off road and we got stuck, really stuck. Neither of us wanted to get out of the truck because we kept hearing wild animals not too far off. After a few hours of being stuck we decided to walk (A long way) home. I pulled a Ferris Bueller and had to hide in the bushes from my dad as he drove by on his way to work. Fortunately I was able to sneak in my window. Unfortunately Kevin had to explain to his parents where his truck was the next morning. Even though he wore glasses he wanted to join the air force. The thing is, today there are eye surgeries that would have permitted him to fly… There are so many memories and stories that I could go on and on… The last I saw Kevin was my senior year. I was in a continual heap load of trouble. We climbed a tree one day after school and were debating life. I had to be home at 5pm sharp as it was my new curfew; I was like a cat on a leash. We decided to hit the road and run away. So, off we went and we made it about a thousand miles. It’s hard to describe that trip but it included many things from laughter and tears, to a near death experience, the feelings of fugitive despair to the feelings of ultimate freedom. After a couple of days on the road they figured out where we were. My parents arranged and had me kidnapped and I was carted off to a boarding school. Kevin made it back home to Tucson a few days after that. One of the very last few times I saw him he was running through the snow in Utah laughing loudly with an ear to ear grin. Due to the volatility of our friendship we were no longer permitted to have any contact. Six months later Kevin died the victim of a shooting. He was barely an adult. His loss was and is a tragedy. Six months after that I was diagnosed with Cancer. I did survive with surgeries and treatment. I sometimes wonder if we hadn’t been caught that Kevin might still be alive and that I might be dead. Kevin, where ever you are I hope you are flying… I miss you buddy… Sincerely, Chad Larsen