Almost five years ago Mattt and I decided to go on one of our many road trips to San Diego. We were riding Will's backyard ramps and at the end of the night we asked Kotter if he wanted to go with us. It was extremely last minute and he had to work the next morning but he decided to go with us anyways. How did he get out of working at Kohl's that weekend? He told them he had explosive diarrhea and there was no way he could make it the next few days, haha. That was just the kind of guy he was. Completely confident and a total goofball.
Also, a couple years ago Morgan and I brought him and Kimmy to Woodward east to ride with us during the winter. We ended up playing padiddle on the way back to camp and took a self-timed picture of all of us naked (parts covered) in the middle of Amish town in the freezing Pennsylvania weather. Morgan and I actually found that picture and were laughing about it just a few days ago.
Kotter was always so controlled, calm and had his head on straight when almost everyone else was being crazy. Just ask someone about how he kept things down at the hotel after my wedding (he was an usher).
I am truly going to miss him. He has always been on me and Morgan's minds over here in Texas whether it be him randomly calling Morgan just to talk, or us trying to get him out here to visit. We always thought that he would enjoy living on a ranch with livestock and being a cowboy for the rest of his life. He was in our minds often. For instance, there is a man at our church that looks exactly like Kotter plus twenty years and I always wanted to get a picture of them next to each other. And every time I hear a Chewbacca noise I will ALWAYS think of Kotter.
It's so strange that he's really gone. It hit me really hard this morning, but now seems unreal. Everyone has their appointment...we just wish it was when we are all old, gray and somewhat expecting it.
As we need to pray for Kotter's family we also need to pray for Mattt. Like Mikey, he will have to live with this for the rest of his life, only for Mattt it was his best friend and not a complete stranger. Please keep him in mind and visit him and support him as he will need our encouragement.
-Natalie Wade
