09.22.05
Posted in Memories at 5:37 pm by Tarlie Harris
This is one of my favorite pictures. This was last summer, July 2004 up at Gabe’s house outside of Boston. Wyatt was 1 year old in this picture, and this was the first time Wyatt had seen Lucas in probably a couple of months, which in 1 year old time is a really long time. Wyatt was a pretty shy baby as well. But when Lucas and I first got up there, Wyatt went straight to Lucas, held out his arms for him as soon as he saw him. Then after a minute, he was like, wait a second – this isn’t my dad. It was pretty interesting to watch the realization hit his face because Gabe and Lucas not only look so much alike sometimes, but they really sound identical – and i think they just have the same feel to them that babies are good at recognizing. It was cool. This picture was taken later in the trip, Wyatt was cranky and had gotten hurt or something while playing and Lucas was lying down on the other side of the room and Wyatt just walks on over to Lucas and climbs on top of him to get a rest for a minute.
It is a little dark, but you get the idea.
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09.20.05
Posted in Memories at 5:31 pm by JudiMom
Jerry and I recieved this letter (one of many) from a teammate of Lucas’ at Saint James,
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Harris,
It is with greatest sympathy that I write to offer my thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time. I cannot fathom the pain that you have experienced from your tragedy, and I know that nothing can fill the void. However, I hope to offer some memories of Lucas that I will never forget.
On the football field at Saint James High School, Lucas was a leader without even trying to lead. His mere presence and passion for life was sufficient to inspire younger players as we practiced and worked toward our goals. Lucas was always, fun-loving and mischievious in the locker room, but fierce and intense on the filed. Probably, the most excellent display of his true character occured during his last game as a Senior. In a losing effort vs. Sulligent, we on the defensive side of the ball were beaten down in the final quarter. The season had been successful but long, and many of the younger players (me included) were ready to have some afternoons off from practice. So in the fourth quarter, with victory all but hopeless, I can recall Ludas (our middle linebacker) coming back to the huddle covered in mud. Both arms hung limp at his side due to “stingers” in both shoulders. Rain dripped from his facemask as he yelled at us to step up and play with pride. He refused to walk off the field without giving every ounce of himself. I could see the pain in his face and found myself moved by his toughness and sacrifice. I played the remaining minutes of that game with a different view of what football was all about. Lucas had taught me leadership and courage in a powerful way.
As you already know, Lucas was a person who brought joy and light-heartedness to nearly every situation, but I remember him as a hero on the gridiron. He understood the concepts of teamwork and the dynamics of leadership better than anyone. I am grateful to him for modeling these values to younger students at Saint James, and the world is surely diminished by his loss. Lucas was a beautiful person and that is how I will always remember him. Please know that we are thinking of you as you morn. If you ever need anything at UAB, please let me know.
God Bless You,
Lee
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09.17.05
Posted in Memories at 12:22 am by Rob Rosenfeld
The first time I met Lucas was my first holiday visit to the Harris’ in Montgomery, probably Thanksgiving 1993. When I got there, it took a while for Lucas to appear, so I asked what he was doing. He said he had been grounded for poor grades and was hanging out in his room. It was clear from his mischeivious grin he wasn’t sitting around moping in there. He was talking to truckers on the CB convincing them he was different people using fake voices to get them to say curse words or talk about sex.
During my same visit Lucas and Jerry were going hunting and were talking a bunch about it. They were starting to get excited and got around to talking about hunting boars. Turns out you walk around on the ground to hunt them and they can turn and charge, so they had gotten Lucas a special weapon. Of course, Lucas has to show it to me and runs down the hall to his room. I follow and by the time I get there, he’s got what looks like an AK-47 (the ones the bad guys in Rambo movies always had) with a foot long bayonet attached. How would Jeff Foxworthy put it? You know you’re in the South when you can’t tell if an 11 year-old is going hunting for hogs or VietCong.
He was having a lot of fun, that’s for sure. In recent years, that’s the Lucas I no longer got to see all the time. I sure did miss that before his death and always will.
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09.16.05
Posted in Memories at 5:25 pm by Tarlie Harris
To this day, I never rollerblade without thinking about the time Lucas and Jordan and I went in Vermont. This was in the summer of 1996 and me and Lucas and my parents drove from Montgomery to Montreal – stopping in a few places along the coast – to make a trip to Boston for Gabe’s graduation. We went to Vermont for a few days and did all kinds of stuff. I don’t think either one of us had ever been rollerblading at this point, so we decided to try it out. For as good at football as Lucas was, rollerblading was far from easy for him. I have never seen anyone more awkward and uncoordinated on wheels! It really was hilarious! I would be going nicely along the path, and out of nowhere Lucas would zoom across the path in front of me, so he was coming from the grass and headed straight for the bushes with his hands straight out in front of him and his body perfectly straight but leaning backwards any second about to tip over. The only thing to stop him was the bushes, he had no concept of stopping himself or slowing down, we would hear big crashes and rustling every once in a while and Lucas would appear from the brush a few minutes later. His face a combination of having fun being reckless and just pure annoyed that he couldn’t do any better. Needless to say, he was done rollerblading for good, I am pretty sure he never put a pair on again. I would always tease him and say we should go again sometime.
This picture is in Vermont from that trip, Lucas and Gabe and Jordan in the yard.
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09.10.05
Posted in Memories at 2:03 am by Tarlie Harris
I’m sure all of Lucas’s friends aren’t surprised to hear that Lucas made
such a strong impact on my life and the life of my friends over the past
year. I was fortunate to know him for quite a while because of Kristen
and Jacob, but it wasn’t until Jacob moved back to Montgomery from
Auburn that I really got to know him on a real personal basis. One of
my favorite memories came on one of the legendary weeks that Jacob
babysat for Marshall Long. Lucas was there the entire time (even when
Jacob was at work then at night school). He would call me when school
got out to find out when we were coming over to hang out. One night,
Jacob, Lucas, Marshall, and I went to Shogun (by Lucas’s
reccomendation). As they served up the noodles, veggies, and rice, we
noticed Lucas would not even think of touching his plate. I asked him
what the deal was, and he told me he always waited until all of the food
was ready. Then he would devour it all at once. After about 5 beers,
this monster plate of food was ready in front of Lucas. No exaggeration
– before any of us were even 1/4 of the way done with our main meal (we
had already eaten the noodles and rice), Lucas’s plate was clean. Over
the 45 minutes we sat there, Lucas managed to make friends with the
cook, and he cheered him on through each stage of the cooking. I
remember he stood up and let out a good “Choo choooo!” as the cook
pushed the flaming volcano of onions across the grill (picture the
Arsenio Hall fist pump). He introduced himself to everyone at the table
and had these strangers laughing so hard that they were having trouble
even beginning to eat. Afterwords, Jacob had to go to class at AUM.
Lucas, Marshall and I rode around blaring the Dukes of Hazzard Theme,
some Ben Harper songs, and everything else on “Lucas Mix #3”. He
enjoyed hanging out with us just as much as we did with him. I feel
privileged to say that Lucas Harris was my friend. Lucas called me on
August 1st at about 5:30pm to tell me that some books Jacob had ordered
had been delivered to the house. Sounded goofy and happy to talk to one
of his “little brother type” friends as he always did. I had plans to
go out there in the next couple days to pick the package up for Jacob
and just to get a couple of good Lucas stories. I’ve never met an
individual before who could make people laugh harder than him. Every
time he was around, people were rolling on the floor. Lucas Harris
played a huge role in my senior year of high school, and I will never
forget how much fun we all had listening to his stories.
Jordan Kirkland
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Posted in Memories at 1:57 am by rdurden
Lucas & I had neighbors with four children under the age of ten. All of the kids loved Lucas because he would play baseball & jump on the trampoline with them. Just about everyday Brad, the five year old, would knock on our door & ask if Lucas could come out & play. I think he knocked on other people’s doors as well, but they would ignore him. Not Lucas though, he would always play with him. Most of the time, he just wanted Lucas to watch him ride his bike up & down our driveway. Lucas would cheer him on & even call me out there to watch Brad’s amazing performance. It was so adorable how sweet Lucas was to Brad, & how much Brad looked up to Lucas.
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09.08.05
Posted in Memories at 3:33 pm by lane bailey
Another memory with Lucas I thought about this morning made me smile. It was about two summers ago in Auburn. Lucas had the wise idea to have a slip n slide party; I could not think of a better way to spend the day. I am not even sure if we used a real slip n slide. Come to think of it we used a tarp I believe. I remember how much fun we all had; Lucas especially. It was like he had just won the lottery. I remember most of us getting tired but not Lucas he was going back for more with bruises from plunging on to this tarp. He was slideing backwards,forwards,upside down, you name it he most likely attempted it. It was one of those days that you wish you could have every saturday, time with good friends, music,sunshine, and lets not forget a slip n slide or in our case a blue tarp(courtesy of Lucas of course). Lucas made that day great though. I definitly think Lucas was the main reason that this day was so much fun; actually I know he was!!
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09.02.05
Posted in Memories at 2:19 pm by rdurden
Some of my happiest memories with Lucas involved us doing absolutely nothing at all. As outgoing as Lucas was most of the time, we both looked forward to the times when we could relax together at home. He would always let me use his cherished “night night” blankie. He even started breaking in a second “night night” during our time together because I used it so much. I remember trying to wash it once and he was not thrilled with the idea becuase he liked the way it smelled. Even if he didn’t pack clothes or a toothbrush when we were traveling, he made sure to pack those blankies.
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Posted in Memories at 12:12 pm by Tarlie Harris
I think this might be from that visit to Tuscaloosa Megan is talking about, or it could have been a few years later, not sure. I know I wasn’t there, I just wound up with the picture.
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Posted in Memories at 11:38 am by april07
I’m Lucas’ Aunt and I didn’t spend alot of time with him as I’m in Calif. But the times I did spend with him were unforgettable. His laugh and his sence of humor were contagious. Even as a little kid he left footprints on your heart. The way he said “thats righttt,” and his reasoning for life will never be forgotten. Lucas we love you…
Sheri Henry
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