I'm not a man who takes true friends for granted. If you are my friend, I have your back, and I am sure you have mine. If that's not the kind of person you are, we will probably never be anything more than acquaintances. I'm not talking about fighting for me, because two of my closest friends are females(who would both jump in anway), but just in general. I'll do anything for a true friend, and my true friends will do anything for me. Such was the friendship I shared with Ricky Clagg, who we laid(scattered?) to rest on Sunday.

I met Rick when I was about 10 or 11 back in 1970 when we first moved to Tehachapi. We were horse people and so were the Claggs. Rick was about three years older than me so I was in High School before we did a lot of hanging out. He was a senior when I was a freshman, and he became my protector. The small size of THS made freshman initiation a big deal. People pushing peanuts with their nonses, dancing on the phone booth in the quad. Rick told me to just hang out with him till it all passed and if anyone told me to do anything I didn't want to do to tell them they had to clear it with him first. Nobody pushed the issue. Rick was a badass and everyone knew it and nobody wanted to test him over a puny freshman!

Yeah, Ricky WAS a badass. One of his sayings was "If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly"! He was also one of the friendliest, nicest, most polite men I have ever known. Whenever I ran into Rick he always asked about my Mom and Dad. He was a good father, a good husband and a good friend. He was also chivalrous. Most youngsters today don't even know what that word means, let alone practice it. There was a time when treating women like the special people they are wasn't looked upon as wierd or chauvanistic, and Rick was the epitome of that old school behavior, as are the rest of the men in the Clagg clan. Treating a woman badly in Rick's presence was a good way to get lined out at best, and a good ass-whoopin' as worst. Treating a female friend as such around him would guarantee the latter. Two things always bring Rick to mind. John Wayne's line as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit, when he says to Glen Campbell's character, "You get crossways of me and you'll think a thousand a brick had fell on your head", and the "Rodeo Song"..Go look it up on You Tube..I'll bounced for repeating the lyrics here.

Rick was a scrapper in the old sense of the word. He was hot tempered and fearless. A bad combination should you have the misfortune of crossing him. He was long, lean, wiry and tough. I'm sure Rick threw the first punch in some of his fights, but only after being provoked. He wasn't the type to start fights, but he was definitely the type to finish them. I remember him telling me once as we discussed a guy he was pissed at, "Mark, I'm gonna drop him like a bad habit". I guess I never pissed him off, because I don't remember ever having a harsh word between us. Not that he'd have fought me, nor I him. He and I were on the same page where friends are concerned. They piss you off, it passes, it's all good, and not worth fighting about.

Rick was also a cowboy. A true horseman and a rodeo rider, and at one time, even did some rodeo bullfighting(aka. clowning). He wasn't a great bullrider, but he never backed down from one. His brother said at his memorial that he was known as "Hang up and drag Clagg" because he would simply never give up. He once told me that since I liked the adreneline rush of almost dying racing bikes, I should try clowning with him. My bikes didn't chase me around arenas and they didn't have horns and a bad attitude. I passed. He loved riding bulls and broncs and was a damn good roper both solo and team. His memorial was held at one of the roping arenas in Cummings Valley where he hung out. I was one of the few guys there who wasn't dressed to go roping!

He was also a clown in life. Always screwing around and being funny. I'll never forget him coming to visit me and an old girlfriend once. He gave her a hug and said "Hey, do you fool around"? She said "No", to which he replied, "Well, will you hold still while I do"? He taught me some important things too, like knowing when to fight, and when not to(always for your family, never with the cops), how to tell when a bull wanted to kill you(whenever he could see you), and how to shape a Stetson over a pot of boiling water.

Yeah, Rick was a man's man as well as a woman's man, and while that didn't make him unique, it certainly made him rare. I'm sure there are more out there like him, but I haven't met them. I hadn't seen Rick in a few years and I was saddened by that when Mom told me of his passing. It affected me deeply. Much more than I would have thought, but then Rick was one of those guys I never thought about passing. He was bigger than life. He seemed immortal in some ways, but in the end, was just as fragile as the rest of us.

I've lost three old friends in the last year. None over 53, which was Rick's age, but Rick was one of my oldest friends, and I didn't really realize how close a friend until he was gone. I shall miss him a lot. His memorial was a rolicking good time that he would have approved of whole-heartedly. Lots of food, friends and a couple of kegs at a roping arena. The number of people there was a testament to the man he was. All ages, both sexes, and ranging from Ranchers to businessmen, rodeo folks to bikers and even a couple of his old teachers. I'm glad I was able to make it with Mom.

God Bless your soul, Ricky Lynn Clagg. The world is a dimmer place without you.