When I was a boy, I knew Darrell very well. He lived on Lake Waukomis, outside K.C. I was thrilled to be the kid in the neighborhood who got to mow his lawn, and even tho I was young, we became good friends. He was alone then, between marriages…and sorta adopted me for a few years as my own parents were divorcing and not around. We were close for about three years. I remember being at his house often, most days of the week… opening his damn fan mail (he would always have me hand him the nudie pics and chuckle…I was 12…) I just want to testify that Darrel was a gentle, sweet guy…we used to fish together, he would take me to Royals games, do tons of stuff outside on the lake…I would do odd jobs for him like cleaning out his van…stupid stuff like that and he honestly was like a dad to me….a baseball star taking his time with a local kid, much more than that actually…He was a wonderful influence on my life and a caring guy…not much more to say…when I heard he had gone, I cried…
