Brother From Another Mother

The day my Mom passed is the single greatest, defining event in my life. Everything I had ever worked for was to give her the life of comfort and happiness that her many long years of sacrifice and hardship had denied her. So it is that with her passing I now live my life trying to earn the opportunities that her life paid for me.

On the day of her passing, LR flew to Hawai’i to be by my side. I had only known LR for a short while and had not yet deepened the bond of brotherhood which we now share. For a new friend–a new acquaintance, really, if we’re being honest about it–to take time and money, when a new college grad has small supply of both, to be there for me is probably the single greatest act of compassion that kept me strong during a tragedy that could have very well broken my spirit. If for no other reason than that alone, LR will forever be my brother.

In the years that have followed, LR has been the big brother I never had. Has been my partner-in-crime. He is the first person I call when my moral compass requires calibration. I have also been fortunate to see and experience that the kindness LR showed me that day is the substance of his character and that his life is going on to touch others as he did mine. To him I say: any time, any where, for any thing, I got you. I love you, brother.