r.i.p. chris brown

my sister had this friend named chris brown--not to be confused with the rapper or the other chris browns that i know. anyway, christy met him in 5th grade, when she punched him and he fell off his bike--his little red huffy. and you know how 5th grade friendships go. from the moment of that punch, they were inseparable.

i don't remember (or have chosen not to remember) many of my sister's childhood friends. my sister had a lot of troubles growing up: with the law, drugs, school, you name it really. but she's cleaned herself up nicely and has a sweet husband and my 2 cute nephews. chris was one of the few friends who have been with her the whole way, and was instrumental (i feel) in introducing her to better people and a better crowd, which included the above-mentioned sweet husband.

sadly, chris himself did not fare so well as an adult and had his own problems that concerned christy and her other friends. but even more sadly, on may 13, chris had a tragic accident and passed away. he was 29. i didn't know chris well, and i haven't seen him in about 2 years now, but whenever i visited ohio he was a part of the crowd that would be invited to my sister's house for some get-together. i usually got a "what the hell have you been up to?", a goofy grin, and some crazy stories. in short, chris was always a nice guy.

my heart goes out to chris's family and those who knew him. and a shout-out to my sister and her family as they deal with a loss that impacts them profoundly. cheers to the 18 years that chris was in my sister's life and helping to make it a better one. we miss you!