I wanted to share some thoughts with you about Ray.
I've always thought that a person's success was not measured by how many friends that he had, but how that person affected those people that surrounded him now that he's gone. Ray was such an individual. He lived life, and he lived it large. He was transparent in that you knew where he stood on issues almost all the time. Much more importantly, Ray had the foresight to see a need, and fill it. From my vantage point, he did so in the entertainment field.
Ray was a pioneer in the music scene in Bakersfield and Kern County. More importantly, he was successful at it. Not just from a monetary aspect, but more importantly from the standpoint that he accomplished what many before him had attempted, yet failed. He didn't suffer fools gladly, and didn't make much time if any for the glamor aspect of it all. He focused on doing the job, and doing it right the first time. It was a pleasure and an honor to work with Ray in the beginning, and to have him be there to help the industry grow and mature to where it is now.
More importantly Ray took care of those that needed to be taken care of. He called on people that he knew could do the job for him. But he also made sure that those that needed the work were first in line. Sometimes this didn't make him friends, but Ray looked at the larger picture. Overall in the end, Ray had volumes of supporters.
The entertainment industry is a little dimmer these days with Ray gone. But Heaven is a little brighter with him up there. And I'd have to say, that in the end that's what matters.
He will be missed. But he will be remembered.
BB (Bob Bender) Curb Records |
