1 year has passed
As today is the first anniversary of Brian’s death and I cannot help but celebrate his life. This time is so hard for so many of us and it is easy to tear up in the pain and sadness of missing him. I turn to photos often and can’t help but feel like we were together just yesterday. The familiarity of his smile brings me right back to countless memories we share. Today my goal was to highlight some fond memories from our lives together so that they may be reinforced so at to never fade.
*Brian was always ready to let me climb him or talk him into doing a cartwheel or whatever circus trick of the week was. He was never any good at it and his flexibility was something to be desired but his strength far made up for that as he could throw me really far when I wanted him to! He loved to play in the grass in the backyard with me or climb a tree whenever we found a good one.
*We got beanbags for Christmas one year. We would set up all 3 beanbags in Alicia and my bedroom and put my circus mat behind them. Then we would run down the hallways as fast as we could and either flop into them or roll into them and knock them down. It was a great game! If we weren’t knocking down beanbags, tickle fights and wrestling were often on the docket.
*Brian usually called out “hey hooch” when greeting me. He never meant is as its scandalous meaning (I presume) and for some reason it saddens me that no one is going to call me a hooch ever again? Hahaha. weird.
*Known for throwing parties in high school , Brian and Alicia were much more sociable than I was. I often “hid” down the hall with my friends over and we seldom left the room or socialized with their friends –hey, we had our own younger kid party going on! Anyways, Brian was always good about checking on me. He would encourage us to hang out with everyone and even if we declined, he would hop down and say hi often to make sure we were having a good night.
*Brian was having a sleepover with Pat McCarty and several other boys when the pet tarantula got out of the terrarium. Boy did they get startled! Their scream woke the whole house up as they found it crawling around the room in the middle of the night.
*He would always let me cheat in H.O.R.S.E.
*I did my study abroad in Galway, Ireland because I thought Brian was so cool and that is where he had chosen to go and had loved it.
*Dad was trying to teach me to drive stick and it was stressing me out so much that Brian, in his beat up Orange BMW with the halfway broken seat that made it a gangsta drive helped me out. I still to this day have him to thank for teaching me stick. Come to think of it, Brian had a series of unfortunate cars – the broken seat BMW, the white Lincoln that was an uncool boat even if it did seat a lot of people, the little blue one that embarrassed Alicia horribly when dad drove it around town and the nova, which was actually cool but only lasted a week or two until taken away for speeding around town.
*I don’t remember watching him play baseball much but I know he was a great catcher. I do remember the basketball games! Brian carried a basketball around with him everywhere. I often walk by a rec center on my way around town that keeps the gym doors open for air. I head the squeaking of basketball shoes and hear the ball bouncing and I immediately think of how much Brian loved the game. It was so hard on Brian when I won the Elks free-throw contest by getting 1 out of 10 free throws in but happened to be the only girl in my age bracket. Brian made over 15 free throws in a row but still got beat out for first. I took home a huge trophy and he, empty handed. It must have driven him crazy that I won a 2 foot tall trophy by default and he got nothing but he never let on. He congratulated me on the way home and never brooded about the fact I put that trophy up in my room for years
*Brian and his friends would come by Prospect Park to hang out just outside of the amphitheater when the annual circus shows were at prospect park. Even though the boys were probably there more to see some of the girls from his grade I always felt honored that they would come and say hi.
*Brian’s room smelled SO BAD when he was in high school. Maybe all boys rooms are like that but man, it was rough!!!
*The family was supposed to take care of Brian’s Bonsai tree when he was away at college or studying abroad. We, of course, didn’t. To cover up our neglect, we spray-painted it green to see if we could get away with it. He definitely caught on quicker than we would have thought.
*Brian was so close to Grandpa Glassco. The bigger the project the better, those two were always laughing and smiling. Losing Grandpa was had on all of us grandchildren but I think Brian the most.
*Brian was always a stiff competitor in a card or board game. 13s, rummy, poker you name it, he could win.
It is odd to see a collection of memories written down and to review them. I think to myself, are these the most important ones? Why in God’s name did I think of these ones and write them down, they seem so inconsequential. I guess in the end, the little things are what I’m trying to get down on paper so that they don’t fade. It’s impossible to get the entire essence of any person, let alone your brother in a page and a half. I guess we must just hope that in the end, we have a collection of memories, little and big, that do him justice.