My Friend Nikk

Nikkolas was 4 when I first met him, a tall, lanky kid whose mother was pushing him to work for me. Understandable, as arguably, I was the best boss to work for. His sense of humor bordered on sadistic, so naturally we got along from the start. I was especially amused by the fact that I asked him to straighten up my department as I conducted a faux interview and he complied. Excellent…

So the boy applied for The Most Evil Corporation in the World, and naturally I did not even get a chance to get him into my department because, while my department was the only one he applied for, they put him in another because, well, they’re evil, made of evil parts by an evil corporation for the sole purpose of committing evil. It’s true. Anyway, Nikk’s career at The Most Evil Corporation in the World didn’t last long as he decided to join the military and was of course sent to Iraq.

Now, I’m also friends with his mother, so to say that she wasn’t thrilled with his decision would be quite an understatement. I could always tell which days she got to talk to her son because there would be a slight grin on her otherwise stoic face. I say slight, because it would be practically unnoticeable by most anybody else.

Okay, so you are probably wondering, what is a 4 year old doing working for The Most Evil Corporation in the World and then going into the military? Well, you see, he was born on February 29th, 1988 and since that date only happens every 4 years, at the time I met him he only had 4 birthdays. He turned 5 in 2008. Does this clear everything up? Good.

Anyway, so while away in Iraq, we kept in touch through Facebook, and I would keep him in my thoughts and prayers to make it out of there unharmed. However, yesterday he was shot and killed. Not by a suicide bomber or sniper attack, but by our local police while he was on the phone with his mother. I don’t know all the circumstances that led up to this, whether it was indeed the results of post traumatic stress disorder or if it simply was a misunderstanding, but the world lost a great man yesterday. He was a brave soul who put himself in harm’s way to fight for our country. He was a funny, caring and generous guy who would drop whatever he was doing to help if you asked. He was simply, my friend Nikk.