Contributions to the tribute of Dana Lee Smith

J

James Farnum uploaded photo(s)

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

What can I say about one of my oldest and best friends Dana Lee Smith? I met Dana in the summer of 1985 at a campground called Woodhaven Lakes in Sublet Ill, when I was 15 and he was 14, he was dating my younger sister and that was really all I knew about him. He seemed like a nice guy, but we did not start hanging out until the summer of 1986. We would ride bikes together and hang out at the beach and at the dances that happened every Saturday night, the 80's were a wonderful time, we would leave from our campsites in the morning, hang out together all day, come home to eat dinner and then would be off again. The first really vivid memory I have of us hanging out together was when I went over to his lot and he taught me to ride his motorcycle, he did not teach me how to stop though and it was pretty funny, Dana and Shane running behind me yelling “pull in the clutch pull in the clutch” as I made an ass out of myself driving down the road through a ditch and into a field, at least I did not hit anything. Dana is the reason it was so easy for me to learn to drive a car with a stick shift when I started driving. Love you buddy! There are so many Woodhaven memories it would take a book to tell everyone about them, but here are some. Lake jumping on my bike, we both got tickets. Sand dune jumping, Dam sliding, we were lucky we did not get killed, Dana and I replacing his starter on the side of the road, driving around in his Chevy Citation listening to “Between the Eyes” by Ratt over and over again. My dad jumping over the counter at Tower Road Pizza to kick his butt. Meeting his brothers for the first time. Dana and I getting matching tattoos and becoming blood brothers at the same time, I got a tattoo that day of my CD handle Icarus on my arm but the guy who did it made the I look more like a J so Dana called me Jcarus for years, LOL. The tattoos we got were to get into parties for free, Dana and I came up with a scheme to be able to drink all summer long and not have to pay for anything, we had a friend that had a campsite that his parents had pretty much abandoned, so we bought a keg, and I brought my stereo over to his site. We would have parties every Friday and Saturday night. We would charge people five bucks to get in until we had paid for the keg, once the keg was paid for, we would stop charging people and use that money to buy the next keg. Our friend Greg who was over 21 would go to the bar right outside of the Woodhaeven front gate and get us a new keg, Greg was also the one who gave us our tattoos. All of our friends got the tattoo, most of the guys got them on our right hand and most of the girls got them on their ankle. If you had a cross tattoo you got into the parties for free. We would drive into town with twenty of our friends, so we could jump off the bridge over the Green river in Amboy. That was also the spot where we dumped a motorcycle I had off the bridge, we got yelled at by some locales and then we pulled it out. Dana was the one to push the bike in but when the cops showed up, I took the blame because Dana had gotten in trouble for having a bunch of Illinois green that he got caught with after driving his car through a corn field. Illinois green was ditch weed that would take a gallon bag of to get high, lol. I got arrested for littering. It was crap because we had already pulled it out and we were walking home with it. I have 1000's of memories that he was a part of, and it warms my heart thinking about them. I would also go and hang out at his apartment in Schaumburg when we were not at Woodhaven and he hooked me up with a bunch of girls, “Thanks Buddy!” We always had a great time together drinking and talking about deep things, the universe, black holes, the super collider, and the crazy things going on in the world. Dana was a very deep person and our conversations reflected that. Most people were sheep to him, and he did not like people who would not think for themselves. Dana, I and a bunch of other friends from Woodhaven celebrated New Years Eve together at our friend Kurt's house in 1986, 1987 and 1988. I can't remember if Dana was there all three years, but I know that he was there at least two of them. It was such a good time. In 1989 I went into the Marine Corps and Dana was in the Navy and for a lot young people that is the end of most friendships, but not us. In the summer of 1990, my sister and I wanted to go to Woodhaven to see who was still hanging out there. On our way out there on route 30 this car passes us at 70 miles an hour and I look at my sister and say “man that guy looked like Dana” but it could not be him because he was in the Navy. So, we get to Woodhaven and the next day go to the beach and who is there? Dana of course with his wife at the time his daughter Danielle. What were the odds that we would both take leave at the same time and also go to Woodhaven? It was a great time and we caught up on a lot of things The most vivid Memory I have from that trip was Dana and I were standing by the volley ball court on the beach and our friend Gene came up to us and asked if we had seen our friend Mary Beth who had gained a bunch of weight, Dana says to him , What all three of her!” and Gene got a funny look on his face and he says, “dude that's my wife!” Dana said, “Oh sorry man I would have never said that if I knew she was your wife.” Gene left and Dana says to me “well that was awkward.” and we started laughing. Dana was one of a kind, he was the extreme, everything that he did was on the razors edge. In 1991 the Gulf War happened, and I was sent to Kuwait when the war ended, and I came home on leave my mom had a coming home party for me and to my surprise Dana was there with his wife and kids. They had just had Cory James and he told me that he had named his son after me, just thinking about that brings tears to my eyes, I asked him why he would do that and he said, “because you're my best friend and I love you.” I love you too buddy!” On the day that I got out of the Marines Dana picked me up at the airport and we went back to his house and had a party, I remember waking up on his hide a bed the next morning wearing my Z Cavaricci's and thinking what the hell did I do last night? It was nothing bad because Dana always looked out of me as I did the same for him. We were there for each other when our marriages went to hell and spent a lot of time together in 1993 and 1994. At that time Scotty was finally old enough to Party with Dana, Shane and I, so that is when I became good friends with him too. I miss you, Scotty! We spent a lot of time hanging out at Woodaven having massive parties and working on his mom's lot. The parties were so epic I'm sure people still talk about them to this day. On Memorial Day weekend of 1994 Dana and I were at Woodhaven and it was very cold, so all of the beaches were closed, Dana and I like always hated following the rules. So, we went out swimming in the lake. We were swimming on the floating dock in the middle of the swimming area when security showed up. Dana and I hid behind the dock for 20 minutes in that cold ass water waiting for them to leave, during that time I felt a pain in the right nipple, and I look down the there is a fish nibbling on me thinking my nipple was a worm. It wanted to yelp out in pain, but I couldn't, and Dana was losing his shit trying not to laugh at me trying to get this fish away from me. I pulled it off and kind of hit it but the little MF'er kept coming back, this went on for about 5 minutes until security finally left and we could swim to shore. You would not think this, but I had a round scab around my nipple, the little fish got me good. We had a lot of laughs over that for many many years. In late 1994 I moved to Ohio and did not see Dana for about a year and a half, we would talk all the time and he wanted me to come and see him. So, in the early summer of 1996 I came out to see him, he was living at his mom's house at that time. I remember people telling he that Carol was mean, so I was kind of worried. I had met her a couple of times in the past but never really got to know her. Carol was not mean at all but a very wonderful lady, I'm glad I got to know her. Dana took me out to the drop zone and I got to see him skydive for the first time. Skydivers are very intense people, and I had a blast. Later that year I moved back to Ill and Dana and I started hanging out again, we would go out to Dave and Busters, Dance Clubs and at one point I even saw him sing Karaoke, He sang Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh. We also spent a lot of time at the drop zone. I made 4 jumps and Dana was with me for every one of them. One day at the zone Dana started telling me about this movie Austin Powers that he had seen and that he had to take me to see it. So, Dana, Kari and I went and saw it, too funny. Kari's license plates on her car said Highlander. I told her that was my favorite movie and she said it was her and Dana's too. I started telling them about the overseas version of the film and the US version had cut a bunch of things out of it and I just happened to have the extended international version of it in my car. So of course, we had to go into her trailer and watch it. “There can be only one!” Dana, Shane, Scotty and I love Star Wars and in 1997 we all went together with their friend Al and saw all of the special editions together, Dana and I would sit there and say that's new, that's new through the movie, fun times. For about a year and a half Dana and I hung out almost every weekend, he even got me a job working with him at Genesis Converting Corporation so we were hanging out every day, then in early 1998 he kind of diapered he was going on a jump and never came back, I was still working with him and the boss kept asking where he was and I had no clue, then he called me and told me he was sorry but he had to get out of that place and he had moved to South Carolina. In May of 1998 I finished Automotive school and moved to Florida for the summer to hang out with my dad. In June I got a call from Dana saying that he had been in a very bad accident and had broken both of his femurs, so I had to go and pick up my daughter Christine who lived in Ohio and told him I would stop on the way back and visit him. So, we did, and I hung out with him, Traci and his two kids. Once again, we had a blast and he wanted to drive my Mustang, so I let him, of course Dana was drifting around the corners and driving sideways down the road. If Dana was not driving fast, he was not driving. If he was not first, he was last, LOL After that we kind of lost touch, we had no cell phones back then and we were both always on the move. In 2005 I had just gotten out of the shower and my wife Stephanie tells the there is someone on the phone for me. I answer the phone and the person says do you know who this is Jareen. I knew right away because only one person always gave me shit about being in the Marines and that was Sir squidley Dana. We were always talking shit about the services that each other were in. We reconnected and I told him I had gotten married again and that I had a 4-year-old daughter and new step kids. He told me that he had met the love of his life, his little southern bell. I asked him her name and he said “Belinda” I was like holy shit you really did meet a southern bell. We caught up on everything and he told me about the Durango Silverton railroad and about how his father had taken his family on it when they were kids and how much he had loved it and was going out there again, he told me the dates and I wanted to go back out west anyway so Stephanie, the kids, my dad and I went out to Durango and I called him. I asked him what he was doing, and he said I'm on vacation in Durango and I was like well I am too. We met up at the Wal-Mart in Durango on Father's Day and right away my kids were like we want to ride with Uncle Dana, I was like no not Uncle Drift to the extreme Dana, LOL I let them go and we had a wonderful Father's Day hanging out together with Dana, Bell and Carol. They left the next day, and we went on the Train and hung out at Mesa Verdi, I am so greatful that he told me about it because it was one of our best trips. On the last day of our trip, we were going to go to Rocky Mountain National Park but instead we drove to Denver and hung out with Dana and Belinda. We watched a baseball game, the White Sox of course and the movie Hitch with Will Smith. Dana also made Stephanie and I the strongest margarita's we have ever had. I was like are you going to put any mix in that or just all booze? That was Dana go big or go home! I wish there were more pictures of us together, but we were always to busy having a good time and making memories to worry about stuff like that. Before we left Shane and Scotty came over and I got to hang with them for a bit and then we were on our way home. It is a happy and sad memory because it would be the last time, I would see Scotty. In 2009 I got a call from Dana telling me about Scotty, we was like “I need you brother.” I was broke because I had quit my job and the job hunt was not going well, but I told him I would be there. I borrowed some cash and me and my daughter Christine drove to Denver, so I could be there for my friend. It was very sad, Scotty service was heartbreaking, but it was nice seeing Shane, Dana, Bell, Carol and Al. The get together with the Smiths was a mixture of very sad and very happy. My daughter and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park after we parted ways with everyone and that is a great memory, I have with just me and her. The sad part in life is that life gets complicated, Dana and I talked every so often about life and what was going on with our lives but did not see each other at all. We were always talking and liking each other things on Facebook but it's just not the same and you always think there is unlimited time. I had two young daughters at that time and then he had his two sons. In 2015 I was drawing a lot and I called Dana and he asked me when I was going to draw him a picture? I asked him what he would want me to draw for him. He told he did not care; I knew what he liked. So, I drew him a Star Wars picture from the Empire Strikes Back with ATT's and snow speeders, at that time it was one of the most time-consuming pictures I had drawn, and I was happy to make it for him, I also still had the ticket studs from when we had all went and seen the special addition back in 1997, so I included it in the picture. In early 2020 Dana called me and told me that he had to get out of Colorado and was going to move. He told me that he wanted to come out to where I lived and check it out. I was so happy, because I knew if he came here and hung out with, he and saw how nice it was here he would stay. I would have my best buddy here with me. Then he called me and told me that he had bought a house in Tennessee and would be closer to me, I looked up where is new house was and told him he was moving exactly the same distance away from me but in the opposite direction. We were both kind of bumbed . The last time I saw Dana, Bell and the boys was in December of 2020. Dana was moving to Tennessee, and he stopped by our house, he supposed to stay a couple of weeks but had wrecked his truck and trailer when he got here which kind of change his plans. We had a great time and Dana being Dana gave one of his edibles and of course it was way to strong for me, I was so messed up. Dana was the extreme! Funny memory from that visit was we were all hanging out on my front porch, and he got up to go to the bathroom. He comes back and sits down. I was like “Dana did you just sit on the cat?” He was like “I don't think so.” get gets up and the poor cat is smashed in the space between the cushions of the couch. It was one the funniest moments of our lives and Bell was right there to take pictures of us and the poor cat. Before he left, I gave him a baseball bat that has been signed by Carlton Fisk who played for the White Sox that my dad had given me and he gave me a knife that his dad had given to him. We said our goodbyes a couple of days later and then it was back to our Facebook friendship and talking every so often on the phone. He called me in January of 2023 to tell me how he had ordered this beautiful blue Indian motorcycle and how when he got it, we had to go riding together. The last time we talk was about a month before he died. He called me a at about 9 o'clock and was a little drunk he talked to my wife Stephanie for about 30 minutes before she brought the phone to me. He was telling her all about the bike he had just gotten and how we all needed to get together and go riding. I talked to him for about an hour about everything and he kept telling me, how we needed to get together as soon and possible and go riding. He wanted to find the earliest bike rally and get together. I told him that I was going on vacation, and we could do at Bikes Blues and BBQ in early October 2023 here in Northwest Arkansas and that he and Bell could stay with us and even though Stephanie has never ridden with me on my bike I would get her to ride with us if he came out. So, we planned it, and I told him that I loved him and would see him soon. Regrets suck, and no matter what you do you can't go back and fix them. We plan things and wish if we had only. I love Dana and always will, he was my best friend through my younger years. I have only loved a few men in my life, but Dana and I were the best of friends. I could write a book on our friendship and the things that we have done. Time is fleeting and you always feel that you have all the time in this world. I wish that I could go back have done things differently, but I can't. Dana knew that I loved him, and I knew that he loved me. We were more than friends, we were bothers. I did not need him to call me every month or even every year, he was always there for me. I grew up with two sisters and both of my brothers were way younger than me, Dana was my first brother and I thank God for him. If I would have called him and told him I needed him, he would have been there in a heartbeat. These are just some of the memories I have with Dana there are 1000's more but there is no way that I can list them all. I knew Dana for almost 40 years, and I loved him more than anyone could know and sense we both believed that time really does not exist and in God, I will see you brother in less than a heartbeat. You were a wonderful, husband, father, brother and friend. God Speed to you! In the words of Spock! 'I have been and shall always be, your friend!”

B

Belinda Smith uploaded photo(s)

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

+ 20

My Honey my everything, you were snatched away by the cold hands of death, the wound is still fresh in our hearts. I am so thankful God sent you into my life and blessed us with Matthew (age 12) and Levi (age 11). I was blessed to be a stay-at-home Mom, while you worked long hours, traveled with work and gone for weeks at a time. You did a great job providing for us. Your memory will be in our thoughts forever. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. Grief is a price we pay for love. You will always be in our hearts my love. I pray that God gives us the strength to get us through this difficult time and heal us of this hurt in Jesus name, Amen.

D

The family of Dana Lee Smith uploaded a photo

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Dana Lee Smith

1970 - 2023

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