August 8^th, at around 8pm, my best friend, little brother of spirit, and compatriot Brandin Johns passed away.  Born with congenital heart disease, he lived 25 years longer then he was supposed to.  Dealt with a bad hand from the beginning of the game; Brandin cheated, bluffed, dared, and starred down death until yesterday.  Finally pulling the Deadman’s Hand of aces and eights (8/8 @ 8) but the odds are always on the house.  His last chip was lost as I watched them slowly shut down his life support.

We made an interesting pair.  Opposites at the surface but inseparable at the core.  His short, lanky frame a comical tangent to my tall, bulky self.  His twisted, sardonic attitude a clash with my warm, jovial demeanor.  He taught me that evil can be entertaining and I taught him that there is good in people despite the thick layers you have to chip through.

He was immensely powerful inside.  Never backing down, never giving up, holding himself bravely over the crashing waves of his own body shutting down and medical doubt of his survival.  Thanks heavily to his beloved Niccy he enjoyed a happy handful of years, taking pleasure in everything he could or that his body would allow him to do.  He was able to go to Hawaii and soak up the sun and surf, he was able to see his childhood dream of the Transformers movie finally coming to the big screen, he was able to play games and enjoy a touch of fantasy.

His spirit was indomitable… but the universe gave him a bad heart to stop him from taking over.