Brian received that call the other day.
David Reis was a friend of ours from Kingsville, TX. He was in the same training squadron as Brian, (VT-21), but they only became good friends near the end of our time in Kingsville when Reis was SDO on the carrier on which Brian was carrier qualifying.
I got to know him more through his lighthearted jokes and his comments about how "...when we all end up on the west coast, we'll get together and go sailing, wine tasting, or do something fun...California is going to we awesome." Reis is on the right.
One of my last memories in Kingsville involves Reis. On our last night in TX, we were loading all of our STUFF into a POD. Moving - eww. I was hungry, greasy, exhausted, discouraged about how everything would fit and if we would be able to leave when we wanted... and our friends Collins and Reis came over to help us move...even after the sun had set. They were a blessing - and Reis, in his flip flops, helped all of us man-handle our big dumb fridge into our POD. I heard about his family in CA and his volleyball-playing sister (my 6 foot frame always gives me away for loving the topics of volleyball or basketball :) Hugs, tears, and See-you-later's were said that evening and then we left the next day.
A couple months ago, when Reis winged from Kingsville, we were SO jealous to hear that he got San Diego. Ya see, we had put San Diego first but ended up with Lemoore. Either way, we were thrilled to hear that he'd be joining us on the west coast - we could go sailing or do something west-coasty-like, like we said we were going to do!
On Monday this past week, Brian got that call - that call that doesn't feel real - the call that makes you pull your car over on the side of the road and hit your steering wheel in disbelief.
Reis had been shot and killed on New Years at his Condo in San Diego.
Details are unclear, all we know is that his sister was with him and she was shot too along with one of Reis' roommates, another naval pilot, Bob Reeves, whom we never knew, but in our military circles, ya know that one of us did. And then, there was another person in the mix that died.... It's confusing. It's weird. It hurts. It's sad.
Their 3rd naval pilot roommate was out of town during the incident and now he has to come back to his home without his roommates being there.
The thing that really bothers me is the mystery - there are too many "why" questions and inferences...
And even though I hated to see my friend's face on the news, I felt that wanted to keep seeing that face, because the more I saw it, the more I would think that it isn't real and that Reis would write something on that picture that I tagged of him on facebook....
And the Reis parents, loosing TWO of their children. This may be the first time I've really had THAT perspective...
All I can do is grieve, pray, be thankful for the relationships I do have, and above all, be thankful for each and every day God gives me knowing that sometimes His Purpose is so unclear...
In the military, you say, "See you later" because you always wind up being based with (or in Brian's case, on the boat with...) people you recognize from your last station...or even several bases ago.
This saying gives me hope because it also works for Believers.
So Reis, I said, "see you later" in Kingsville and I'm saying it again;
I really do look forward to seeing you later.
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