Anyway, having Jimmy coupled with my father's alcoholic physical abuse, by the time I was 24 I had never had a soul say a good thing about or to me. I had been in Boy's Group homes, Juvenile Detention, Shelter Homes, and, the inevitable Reform School by the time I was 16. I'd like to make it clear that this letter is not designed to belittle you brother; his own life's actions do that for him. My real point, Kirk, is to first say
that it is indeed strange how we can do things in our own lives without really realizing their consequences - and at times even think that life is
rather meaningless. So the real purpose behind this letter is to show you what you did for me as a young man that has had a continuing positive effect in my life. I realize that our relationship ended on a seemingly negative note. And it was primarily my fault. But that is not how I remember you, Kirk. If such was the case, then why would I have the desire to get back in touch with you? Instead, I remember you for all of the positive things you did for, and said to, me. I was a high school dropout and, of course, had no college education, but nonetheless, you hired me. You made it rather clear to me that you were impressed by my knowledge on the subject of fitness - a personal interest on mine from my teens on; then you hired me. I felt really good about myself; an experience that was seldom in my life. In addition, you used to compliment me on the results of my personal training: You used to say that I was in the over 200 club, or point out the great development in my calves, etc. One afternoon, when I arrived for work, I was sweating heavily from a bike ride and my long hair was looking wild. When I entered, you said that I looked like Tarzan's Lord Greystoke. Having always been told that I was rather homely, your compliment has always stayed with me. And, believe or not, a girlfriend later in my life said that I reminded her of Christopher Lambert in Highlander; the same actor in two different roles. :O) Furthermore, you made me manager of Pegasus and you used to comment on how smart I was. This came from the times you would ask me the definition of various words and I would always be able to answer correctly. Now here is the real clincher, Kirk, that touched what was then a young man very deeply. You said, "Your like the son I never had". Of course, you could have been kidding with me, but, believe me, it still meant a lot to me considering my real father, at the time, was nothing to brag about. As of January 4th he has now been sober for a year and I am very proud of him. Before that however, he was certainly no dream. I can easily say that you never said or did anything demeaning of negative to me the whole time I worked for you; but rather, only positive things that were much needed in my life at that time. I could easily go on with stories about how good you were for and to me, but the real purpose of this e-mail is simply to say: Isn't it funny, Kirk, how the little things you do in life can have such a large impact on another person's world. Funnier yet is the fact that you probably had no idea. And if one person whose life you have been a part of can write you a letter like this, just imagine how many others have appreciated your positive attitude and your genuine kindness.  As I sit and reflect on my life, recalling the good things that have helped make me the man I am today - after a very miserable childhood - I just want to say Thank You, Kirk Malicki. Your friend, Bob 

 Letter 2 from Bob

You're a good man, Kirk, and you spent a good portion of your life in a line of work that has greatly helped many people get to know
themselves on a different level; that is, no longer as an out-of-shape little man or woman in a society so indulged in beauty. Form the sound of
it, your relationship with Lisa is very important to you, and I too would be glad to know that you have found a woman who is good for you and will spend the rest of her life with you. As for my writing: it's a funny thing, Kirk, but as a child I was given an IQ test when we moved to Oregon and the results were very poor. I was gettin' my ass kicked by my dad all the time and had no reason to participate in the test. This only added to my families belief that I was stupid and the results followed me through each school I enrolled in (18 all together). I ended up in classes with very handi-capped kids. In my thirties, I had an on-the-job accident and applied for workman's comp and some State assistance. During this time the State Psychologist chose to give me an IQ test - he didn't normally do this. I knew I would turn out looking very stupid. The results were quite different. It turned out that I have an IQ in the top 2% of the nation...that's genius! This encouraged me to go to College, where I did a double major in psychology and philosophy and will be working toward my Master's when I am working full-time for the state (right now I am working part-time until the union negotiations are through in July). You can imagine how this discovery helped change my attitude toward myself. This is much like when you hired me at Pegasus. Before that, I had always accepted mediocre jobs at minimum wage.
After working for you, I started applying for better jobs...thanks again, Kirk. When I was a young boy, your brother used to call me stupid and
untalented all of the time. You can see where I am not real fond of him - among other reasons. Anyhow, that is why I can write a great deal, I learned a lot about myself and the potential I always had. Talk to you later.