I was a little late to the game in this whole Facebook thing. I remember when I joined, seeing my cousins’ pages already cluttered with photos—all kinds of interesting shots littered with people I had never seen, all of who seemed to love DVP. Parties chock full of headlocks, peace signs, b-boy poses, ties wrapped around foreheads, irrational male hugging… the whole nine yards. I remember thinking, “Geez, what is going on out there in the big city? This kid is entrenched in a world I’ve never been a part of. I’m home helping with homework assignments, and this cat is living every night like it’s 1999.”
It seemed like an unbelievable collage of a late 20’s professional working hard and playing hard(er).
I was envious.
Not envious of his apparent happiness or success. I was elated that he was thriving in his career. No, I was envious of all the others who were getting to share a slice of that D. Price mystique. I wasn’t getting to share in all that bravado, all the gusto that he brought to the table—much of which I instilled in him! When David was unleashed, there was nobody better. Most impressive how he’d transform that 5’5” frame into a larger than life persona. I know this based on my limited exposure; I can imagine how much fun it was for those who worked and partied with him week after week. A pocket-sized dynamo, ready to roll at the drop of a hat. The very definition of “Life of the Party.”
I was envious that “they” were getting to hang with “him.”
Thank you to all of you that shared in his experience.
I had the chance to work with David twice in my life, both in a limited capacity. Once at a bank call center, the other with a technology firm. In both instances, he was the funniest, craziest, goofiest, most engaging, magnetic personality in the entire building. He was also very talented.
(I can only imagine if Elaine, Tim, and David could have ever gotten on the same page… what they could have accomplished! God, I miss you Elaine.)
Anyway…some random thoughts on my experience working with David:
- When he got the job at the call center (1998), he was immediately a star. He was 17, but he was on the verge of becoming the David that you all know and love.
- I TRAINED HIM… imagine me, at age 21, trying to commence a classroom training with this dude in the back, picking his nose and laughing about it.
- The training took place at night, so we would take our “lunch break” around 8 p.m. and go to the local Jimmy’s Army & Navy to determine which pair of Lugz Boots we were going to purchase next.
- We would also spend the “lunch break” alienating the rest of the participants and usually making fun of them while they mingled awkwardly about 20 feet away from us.
- Every time I walked by his PC, we would laugh. I literally am in a classroom setting, trying to make sure everyone was on the same page, and this dude would be touching my leg, saying, “Hi Jay.”
- At the time, he was driving a teal Honda Civic hatchback, circa ’92. He pimped out the system and would ride around in that thing like Kane from Menace II Society. That car would eventually get “jacked” in his own driveway. I never liked that car because all he would do is pump the bass and let the windows rattle while he styled and profiled. He was always about the image—I was always about the substance in the words. Fundamental differences.
- When he got on the “floor” and started taking calls, he crushed it. Started breaking records in his calls per hour and basically saw the job as a cakewalk.
- He also showed up late almost every day and was lucky to have a manager that gave him lenience. (Charm at play?) I’m talking LATE. It’s not like his shift started at 4:00, and he showed up at 4:02. I mean, LATE.
- He would frequently tell colleagues he was a better basketball player than I was. Hahahaha.
- We went out one night with a particularly rigid co-worker for my birthday… after a night of hanging with us, he came into work the next day and said to another colleague, “Never again.” HAHAHA!
- On the day he left the job, he decided to go “out to lunch” and came back in a slightly altered state. 🙂 He spent an hour “celebrating” his leaving and basically walked around the office hugging every female co-worker in sight. I imagine his cologne didn’t hide the stench, but no one cared.
Fast forward to 2003-
It had been a while since David and I connected. I had gotten married in 2000, and he went to college and was working as a bartender in that time. It was during this period that Tim and I further established our bond, as I spent much time in his New Haven apartment discussing the acute details of movies, books, family, life…
These are some of my fondest memories of David. Maybe because they are in relative recent memory in my mind? Maybe because they are the closest details I have of him in a similar state to where he was when he died? Ahh, that doesn’t make sense either because he was barely on the cusp of greatness when these events occurred. I just know I was hanging out with 24/25-year-old version of my cousin, and he had changed since I had last “really” hung out with him.
- As a college grad, he had an increased sense of purpose, as well he should. He was a kid when I had last worked with him—but now he had a clue, an idea of what he could potentially become.
- He went from baggy jeans and corduroys (and Lugz) to a more-polished look, ready to tackle the world ahead.
- He came on board as a member of the sales team, possibly a great candidate for success based on his bloodline alone. However, he was SOOO his own unique figure.
- At first, he was a bit detached from me. Perhaps, I was the same. That would soon change.
- Once David got established in his first real professional sales job, he quickly opened up. This is when I was able to re-kindle the fantastic relationship I had with him. It was almost like getting a cherished memoir returned to you—something you haven’t seen in years that resonates through you like a current, unrelenting in its dedication to grasping your heartstrings. This was right before the birth of my son. I felt like I had a renewed sense of vigor. I was getting two gifts from God. One- brand new. The other- refurbished. How lucky can one man be?
So, it was to be that David & Jason were reunited. We quickly became best friends again…
- We worked in separate departments, but only across the wall from one another.
- When I saw him come across the divider, I would instantly smile. Man, did he have that effect. He would walk toward me, and every step of the way I would think, “What is this dude gonna say now? What experience/thought/feeling is this kid gonna explain next?” He was so predictable, yet so unpredictable simultaneously.
- He was the first person that I told, “It’s a boy!” I remember him applauding the birth of Sebastian, calling me a “stud” for having a boy… LOL!
- In 2004, we played in a men’s basketball league together. This might be the pinnacle of our unity—the first time that we got to play on the same team after years of playground ball with and against one another. After hundreds of one-on-one games, we now got to play with each other. I think we went 3-5, but the experience was priceless. David running the point while I was on the wing as the two guard. I loved watching him as a player: so determined, so passionate, and, ultimately, very skilled. I know he loved my game, as well: so fundamental, yet stylish. There is no question in my mind I am his favorite player ever. There were some better, no doubt. But I remain firm… if David could have stepped onto that court as someone else, it would have been me.
- We would spend lunch breaks diagramming plays on the white board. Crazy how serious we took it, but it meant everything for that 2-month period.
- We ate lunch at a place called Bill’s, a “greasy spoon” type of joint down the street from our office. Dave would always get a turkey burger on wheat toast and SMOTHER the thing in about 25 ounces of ketchup. He would cover up the entire diameter of the patty. The kid loved ketchup.
- Tim mentioned in another blog about his coffee drinking. We’d hit Starbucks, and the second he got his coffee, he’d start pounding it like it was a Gatorade. Still SCORCHING HOT. I wouldn’t touch mine until I got back to my desk, and he’d be done already. Unbelievable.
- He was the only person at the company that worked with his shoes off. The first time I saw him walking around in his socks, I was like WTF???
- He loved the movie Office Space. He said it reminded him of the bank we worked at, with the cubicle setup. He would constantly say things like, “Every day is the worst day of my life,” or, “I’m gonna need you to go ahead and…” It was always hilarious when he would say it—when he loved a line in a movie and would pound it into the ground. It would still crack me up every single time.
- One time he came over to my cubicle, and we started laughing. I’m not sure what the story was… could have been David revisiting the night before, could have been anything really. Anyway, we started laughing. We continued laughing. We ended up laughing until we were crying, barely able to breathe. When I finally stood up, I looked over the cube, and the four ladies who worked in the pod behind my cube were all laughing hysterically. They had no idea what we thought was so funny, yet they couldn’t help themselves… HILARIOUS!
So on that note, I’ll close this post.
Thanks for all the memories kid. You were the coolest colleague I ever had.
