On this day, 43 years ago, one of my friends decided that he’d had enough. Around 4pm the phone rang with the news that he had removed himself from his and everyone else’s life. At barely 21 years old, he was through, finished, kaput. This talented aspiring writer was known for a variety of remarkably silly stunts. The last of which was leading a disheveled group of us in a chorus of some song I can no longer remember as the others left my house in the morning after a night of raucous drunken revelry. The New Year Eve’s events and how ten of us ended up sprawled all over my parent’s house with them IN residence, are its own story, as is this remarkable kid’s life. In addition to being a friend he was my first nemesis, which is yet another story, later to be told.

Rick Schettler didn’t leave this life in anonymity. He left published in a book sometimes used to understand the tumultuous times known as the 1960s. Two of his essays were published in How Old Will You Be In 1984?: Expressions of student outrage from the high school free press, by Diane Divoky in 1969. Give it a read if you have time.

My Amazon Services LLC Associates Program Link: How old will you be in 1984?: Expressions of student outrage from the high school free press