Читать книгу Rage. The Legend of "Baseball Bill" Denehy онлайн

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Richie was stubborn, and he insisted he would take the shortcut across the ice.

I stayed on land and made my way home. Richie didn’t return home that night. He fell through the ice and drowned.

A wake was held for Richie two days later. For the first time in my life I felt deep-down anxiety. I walked into the funeral parlor and was confronted by Richie’s dad, who grabbed me and started shaking me.

“How could you let your best friend walk across the ice by himself?” he shouted.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I couldn’t stop him.”

The incident scarred me so deeply that I didn’t attend a wake or funeral until I was out of high school. Years later, Richie’s dad apologized to me, but I could never get it out of my mind that I could have done something to save Richie from his fate.

The death of Richie Barone haunted me for years. I would have conversations with him.

“Rich,” I’d say to him, “I don’t know if I’m going to go into the NBA or major league baseball, but you’re coming with me. You may not be able to physically get there, but I’m going to get there, and spiritually I’m going to take you with me.” I always had the thought that I was doing it for us, not just for me.