I'll have to say I'm writing this post out of more shock than anything else.  It was about 5 years ago when I first met Rich Fagan and Tom Oteri, Cheri's dad.  At the time, I was visiting a friend in Nashville and met the pair by random on a plane ride.  My friend was an aspiring song writer, and there were few that had hits under their belt like Rich Fagan.  He's the songwriter behind songs like John Micheal Montgomery's "Sold", George Strait's, "Overnight Male," and Clay Walker's "Only on Days that End in Y."  That's just to name a few.   The two owned a publishing company together and also lived in the same home.  The first time I visited their home, I had no idea Tom was Cheri's dad - until I took a trip down the hall.   That's when I saw several pictures of Cheri in her infamous cheer leading suit from Saturday Night Live. I also remember a picture in the bathroom of Tom with the crew of SNL and Monica Lewinsky.  I guess he visited his daughter the night she was a guest host.  Anyways,  I spent many hours with the two, from eating dinner to listening to Rich play his hits on the back porch, to trading emails with them both when I was here in Texas.  I'll have to say over the last year or more, I didn't have frequent contact with Tom or Rich, but that didn't keep us from the occasional email.  I always really liked them both.  Rich was the hippie of the group, and Tom..well...you just couldn't find a nicer man.

Which leads me to the shock of my life.  I came into work today and logged on my computer to read that "Cheri Oteri's Dad had been murdered."  I couldn't' believe my eyes..and all I could think was WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE HAPPENED?  Tom doesn't have an enemy in the world.  My first suspicion surely wasn't Tom's best friend, Rich.   But, to my surprise, it was.   According to police reports, Rich has been charged with criminal homicide.  The police report indicates that Tom and Rich got into some sort of argument, before Rich pulled out a knife and cut Oteri across his body.  The thought of this entire situation just makes me sick to my stomach.   Please pray for the family of Tom Oteri, as he was a wonderful man.   He will be greatly missed by many.