Randy Stubbs was one of my best friends when I was young. We often walked home together after football practice at KJH with Joe O'Brien, his brother Dermot, and occasionally Carl Van Valkenburg and John Woods. All, sadly, have died. In high school, we played on the varsity tennis team together. I was the number one singles player and Randy was the number two player our senior year. We had epic battles over who would claim the number one spot, but we remained good friends in spite of our rivalry. We also teamed up to play number one doubles. Randy had a screamingly fast first serve but a powder puff second serve, which made me fear for my life at the net. He was a determined and fierce competitor but he kept his emotions under control. He was a joy to have as a teammate. Randy was a man of few words, but he had a smile that lit up the room; I will always remember him as a kind and caring soul. I lost track of him after high school but I believe he went on to become a teacher and a coach. I was greatly saddened by the untimely death of my childhood friend