Rich Huff’s speech at Rich’s NY Memorial Service,

September 30, 2001

I would like to thank Karen and both families for giving me the privilege of

sharing some of my thoughts.

Rch and I met at Yale as teammates on the football team and as members of

Berkeley College, but I am not exactly sure how or when our friendship

developed.  Like many of his relationships it formed naturally, owing to his

easy going, unassuming nature.  He stood by me in some of my darker moments

and taught me more than I learned in the classroom.

Some of you may have read about Rch in a recent Yale daily News article

which catalogued some of the many things Rch did during his years at Yale -

student of International relations, studied the Russian language, played

varsity football, formed a popular band, published a comic strip,

revitalized a snack bar in the Berkeley basement, and somehow convinced me

that taking statistics in my final semester would be fun.  An impressive

list but certainly not exhaustive.

Rch managed to do all of these things as the rest of us scrambled to figure

out just how to make it through midterms.

It is easy to be impressed by this list and you will walk away with an

appreciation for him, but one would not know the full measure of the man.

It is my sincere belief that Rch did all of these things not for the

accolades that surely followed.  I'm sure that he took some pleasure in

that, but his true joy seemed to come from the experience itself and the

opportunity to share life's beauty with others - music for others to dance

to, a gathering place for fellow students to hide from the damp of New Haven

or their studies...

As was the case at Yale, I will turn to him now to lend me a hand.  A friend

recirculated a note Rch had penned after his father's passing.  I would like

to share a portioon of that message with you all because believe that he

provides the best insight into how he approached life. 

"I always figured that it's a miracle that anyone is alive,

and has consciousness, and free will; just the idea of life is incredible. I

never forgot that - I always tell people that a wasted day is a crime

against nature, because you never getthat day back.  You can always have

more accomplishments, or more money, or more notoriety, or whatever - but

you can never get more time.  You get what you get.  And I'm glad that my

dad had his time, and that I got to share that with him."

I am truly grateful that Rch had his time and am honored that I have been

able to share it with him.