Vivek Wallace – Each of us have met someone in life that we’ve never known, yet walked away feeling we’ve known forever. For most of us, that someone was “Coach” Tim Walker. From the first time we met, the indelible print left in my mind was that “this was not only a person to talk boxing with, but more of a person to talk life with”. In one of our very last conversations, I can remember telling him, “not only do I respect his work, but I have immense respect for him as a man”. It was a pretty touching moment and he showed a strong sense of appreciation for my thoughts. Shortly after that, he contacted me to show support upon learning my family had suffered back-to-back losses, only weeks apart. Too busy making arrangements, my response simply read “Thank You, Tim”. I had no idea at the time that those would be the last words I could ever tell him, but thinking back, I’m grateful that they were. Nothing else could have possibly been more fitting.
Comedy tells us that “size matters”, but reality shows us that even in long life, one thing remains short. That one thing is time! And since I never got a chance to add to that 3-word text message, today, I’d like to send it again, by saying on behalf of EastSideBoxing, “Thank you, Tim”! Thank you for everything! The late night boxing chats. The ‘life’ conversations.. Everything! Life can be funny……..but nowhere within that laughter can we ever bury the pain associated with the lost of someone special…….regardless of how many times we’ve shared those laughs together. Thank you for the laughs, thank you for showing love, and thank you for the memories. Our selfish side would have loved to keep you here forever, but as “TORA” stated upon hearing the news, “maybe God needed someone to talk boxing with”! He couldn’t have picked a better source. It’s our loss…..but Heaven’s newspaper just gained a helluva scribe!
We love you, brother! May you rest in eternal peace!
Love,
Your “EastSideBoxing” Family!