This is a purely personal posting. Less of an obligation to read than normal.
Early this morning I found out a... not exactly friend... but more than an acquaintance.... of mine overdosed yesterday. This is the second person from my childhood to do so in the last few months. I was the one to break the news to my sister both times. I didnβt post when the first died, and this time Iβm going to post for both of them.
These were my brotherβs close friends, they were almost like my big brothers in some ways. I didnβt keep in touch so much over the last few years, but my brother(s) did.
I canβt possibly express or explain anything, so Iβm going to share just a brief glimpse of my memories for this post.
The first one. Growing up he was the pretty boy. His smile could light up the room, and it did, so often. He was silly, playful, gullible, and just such a friendly soul. I remember starting my pre-teen years with him always around at my momβs house. He was one of the first people who made inappropriate jokes with me... made me feel like one of the older kids. He wanted to be a model, and he probably could have been. I remember when he was cast as an extra for the first time, to be topless and dancing in a club. He was SO excited. He was bouncing off the walls. He was full of life and thatβs how Iβll remember him.
The other one... he literally game to rescue me more than once. As it would come as a surprise to no one... I was a bit of an idiot (was right? was...) and I certainly got into trouble as a teenager. A few instances come to mind... but the main one was this one day two of my friends and I were coming out of a McDs in Toronto. As we left, I donβt recall exactly what happened (this was about 15 years ago now) but something was shouted at us, I provoked them back, and suddenly we found ourselves being chased by about 25 guys. As we ran I tossed my cell phone to my friend Adam and told him to call my brother. I started fighting and he was able to get out of the way and did so. Long story short I was beaten up but still standing, and my necklace which was a gift from my grandparents was gone. Within 5 minutes of Adam calling my brother, there he was. He told me and Adam to get into the car and off we went... to pick up 3 other friends. The first was one that I still consider a brother to this day (and the two who passed were as close to him as he is to me). He was actually downtown at the time and made it north impossibly fast. Adam once calculated that it meant he drove at about 130 km/h and could not have had a single red light to get to us that fast. Then came the other two. One of whom is the one who passed yesterday. He piles into the car with us (6 people in a very small car). He squeezed my shoulders from the back seat βHey Benji, donβt worry okay?β I turned around and there are 3 pretty big Israeli guys crowding Adam in the back seat.
I donβt want to drag the story on, but with no more physical violence... Iβm wearing part of the necklace today. He also was a goof, with a grin that was just from ear to ear. He always reminded me to βBe greatβ.
How I feel today, even after being so distant... is heartbroken. So how my brother(s) must feel... it must be unbearable.
Just had to share that. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Lots of love to those two lovable Israeli lugs. I miss you.
