As empty as my heart is, I’m not surprised that words fail me.

I’m afraid this column is more for me than anyone else. Everyone is telling me it helps to talk about that which weighs heavy on us …

But what is there to say?

We’ve just lost another friend in Scott Heinig.

Really still a kid at 22, Scotty was destined for big things. Heck, he had already accomplished big things, and he wasn’t out of second gear yet.

Just like that, last weekend, one of the more engaging people on the planet is gone. An accident at a friendly gathering …

It’s not fair. Those are the words that keep coming to me.

I can’t talk about all the great moments the Heinig family has brought my family’s way since my son and Scott first met way back in AA Little League.

The baseball games together, the rides to and from tournaments. The time Scott’s dad, Mark, and I spent umpiring. The joy Scotty brought me — and countless others — with his brilliant outlook, his competitive spirit, his real concern for those around him.

My kids, Nick and Julie, are trying to deal with Scott’s death: my son a teammate of Heinig’s at Davis High, my daughter a good friend of Scotty’s. She’s come home from college, trying to find ways to make life a little easier for others close to him.

I see it in their eyes, I hear it in their voices. This is my kids’ toughest moment yet. And they’re not alone.

A memorial service for No. 20 is planned for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Freeborn Hall on the UC Davis campus.

I’ll go, along with hundreds of other people who have loved this special guy.

But being there is not going to help me. Not yet. Being reminded of how much my wife and kids and I will miss Scotty … I don’t know. It’s not something I want right now.

But I want Mark, mom Jane and sister Adrienne to know that, eventually, I will dwell on all the good that came from just brushing up against Scott Heinig.

I’ll enjoy hearing all the stories about what Scott did as a sixth-grader with Bob Creely at Valley Oak Elementary, or that no-hitter he threw as a JV Blue Devil, or how — while coaching briefly at his alma mater — he helped current Davis High pitchers become one of the dominant prep staffs in the region.

But I expected to hear these stories from Scott himself; or at least with Scotty standing there, correcting the accuracy of the tale — or smiling that smile, proud of his accomplishments.

What we all wouldn’t give to hear Scott Heinig with his ear-to-ear grin, giving you his favorite greeting, “How great is life today?”

I know in my broken heart that Scotty will live on in our memories. At UCD, at Davis High, in our community in general, Scott Heinig will never be forgotten.

But, please, for now, don’t anybody ask me “How great is life today?”

While I Have You Here: The outpouring of grief is far outweighed by the celebration of Scott Heinig’s life.

Former Blue Devil Eric Drobny’s salute to his old pal was published in Thursday’s Enterprise and David Butterworth — who, like Heinig, played at DHS and UCD — has a moving tribute at http://www.onlystrongmoves.com.

— Bruce Gallaudet is a staff writer for The Davis Enterprise. Reach him at [email protected] or (530) 747-8047.

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