Happy Birthday Bryan: I Love and Miss You!!

Today is July 3rd.

And if it weren't for a tragic car accident on November 10, 1995, my brother Bryan would have turned 39 today.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him in some capacity. It could be a fleeting thought, a conversation with one of the kids, a song on the radio that triggers a memory, mistakenly calling Cody "Bryan", seeing a good friend of his, spotting a couple of deer out in a field, hearing a woman talk about her brother, seeing a young kid walking on the side of the road holding a fishing pole, hearing a commercial for Chilis or Red Lobster, someone talking about their vacation to Florida, seeing a Ford Mustang on the road, etc, etc. There are so many things that remind me of him and I am thankful for that because I would never not want to think about him. He was awesome. Really awesome.

The other night, after the hockey board meeting, I ran into a very, very good friend of Bryan's who was in town for a few days after attending a wedding last weekend. After a long hug and the normal pleasantries that occur when you haven't seen someone in a long time, the conversation of course got back to Bryan. And I am so glad it did because I heard a few stories I had never heard before. In turn, I relayed those stories to my father, who had never heard them which made him remember some stories that he shared with me (and the kids).

And hearing all those stories has made me remember Bryan in a more detailed way than the fleeting thoughts that cross my mind on a daily basis. It made me REALLY remember HIM and not just the idea of him. And as sad as it is, it is also very, very comforting to have him "close" again.

So today I wish him a Happy Birthday with a renewed memory of the fun-loving, sincere, good-hearted, funny, likable, hard-working, won't take shit from anyone, tough, hot hotted, hunting & fishing loving, brother that I miss so much.