Goodbye and Until We Meet Again...

Ricky Hans Price has been my best friend away from home since I first reported to division on board the USS Carl Vinson. Since July of 2004 he's been a chill, hilarious anchor that kept things in perspective and stood up to fight against the dipshit leadership that took hold of the boat and carried it over to the east coast. Despite how crappy things got at work he was always cracking jokes and saying the most absurd, most politically incorrect things making the rest of his division smile.

I remember when we left to go on the Westpac that would take us to the eastern seaboard we stopped in San Diego to pick up our airwing. The night before we were scheduled to leave SD for the last time he, myself and another fellow named Scotty Kupsky all went to drink. Ricky fell in love with Jaegerbombs at the second bar we went to and proceeded to get hammered. I took him to the bathroom to go piss and make sure that he wouldn't fall into the toilet when he turned to me and said something to the effect of how he would suck my unborn brother out of my mother's ass. My only reply was "Turn around Ricky, you're getting pee everywhere." Later on when we were out back chatting Ricky got thrown out of the bar and vanished before we could find him. We later learned that he passed out in a retired Marine Colonel's front lawn and had to be carried back to the ship by a pair of officers. Good times.

Then there was the time when he was driving into work in the morning and realized that he needed to take a poop- bad. Caught in Base traffic he wasn't able to hold it until the McDonalds so he caught sight of the marina, parked, and dashed for what looked like bathrooms. Much to his relief they were. Much to his chagrin they were locked. At this point his brain had already told his colon that he was 5 seconds to pooping- well past the point of no return. Without anywhere to go he simply dropped trou and released right there, leaning up against the bathroom door. After the colon blow he leaned his head back and gave a sigh of relief, despite his awkward situation. His next order of business was to wipe, or to find something, anything, to clean himself up with, and just as he was looking around around the corner came the Janitor. "Oh my God!! What the hell are you doing!?" he screamed to which Ricky replied "I'm sorry dude it was an accident!". "You can't poop out here!!" Said the old guy. "I told ya, I really had to go but the door was locked." The Janitor sighed, unlocked the bathroom and went in to use it himself. Ricky took the opportunity to run in, wipe and bolt back to his car before the Janitor realized he was gone. He came to work about 20 minutes later and said that had been the most embarrassing moment in his life, but was too funny not to tell everyone about. We all died laughing.

On watch underway he learned that if he bent over and started to hyperventilate for 10 seconds and suddenly stood upright, held his breath and had someone lean their weight against him, pinning him to the wall he could pass out and see all sorts of crazy things in the 10 seconds he was out. We started calling these trips Vision Quests. It was all fun until he went on one and had a bad trip. He passed on any further quests after that point.

He made sure that everyone in RM knew what "The Goat", "The Batwing", and "The Brain" was.

When training was dull and boring, he would spout out something completely ridiculous and get everyone laughing. When work needed to be done in small, tight spaces he would always volunteer- his short, lithe stature meant he could worm himself into anywhere in the plant. When he was in charge of training no one went DINQ and everyone was ahead on the curve. He was the kind of person who loved to have fun, and was always making an ass out himself for the enjoyment of everyone else.

Everyone has small fights or spats with their friends, even their closest friends. Even MY closest friends back home. I never had one with Ricky, not once. It was strange, but I realized he got along with everyone. Nobody was ever mad at him because he was that kind of person. As wild and rambunctious as he was, Ricky was also genuine- a trait that's so very rare in today's world. He would always help out others and never sloughed work or maintenance onto anyone else's shoulders, he knew all too well what it was like to be stacked with someone else's load.

Who's going to be there turning training into a joke and riling up the Khaki's now? Who's going to be there to BS about comics and WoW? Who's going to surf and teach the rest of us to Bodyboard at OBX? Trips to Red Robin and Hooters just won't be the same anymore.

This morning at Six AM EST Ricky Hans Price and his Wife Tiffany left all of us....

...Their flight took off from Norfolk International headed for his new duty station in Hawaii, leaving behind Norfolk Virginia forever. Ricky was my brother in arms. He was OUR Brother in RM Division. It's hard losing a friend, this is true. I'm gonna miss the hell out of him. He was one of a kind, I don't think I'll ever meet someone like him ever again. He was my best friend over here.

Have fun out there in Hawaii, Ricky. You deserve it. Keep in touch, we'll try and visit. Get your tan and hit those waves. Stay safe. All your brothers in RM are going to miss you.

My friend, my Bro... Goodbye and until we meet again.

I'm always gonna remember what you used to say in the passageways, in front of all the senior leadership, women, and civilian guests, loud and proud and at the top of your lungs-

"It Ain't Easy Bein' A Pimp!"

Oh F'sho man, Oh F'sho.

Godspeed.
~Dave