MTV Day

No, this does not involve the televison station. As I stated previously, today is my brother Matt's birthday. He would have been 20. Before he was born, I prayed every Sunday at church for a little brother. I'm sure this put pressure on my parents to make babies, which is awful, but true nonetheless. On this day in 1986, my sister and I were waiting at my Grandma's house on The Hill anxiously awaiting the news. When the call came through, we received the news that we now had a baby brother. Even then, I was a bit of a softie, and I admit it, I cried.

Somehow, my sister, Sara, and I were involved in the naming rights. I know Matthew was in the running, so we picked Thomas as a middle name to make his initials M-T-V. Cable television was influencing us at that young of an age. He loved his initials though. It instantly raised his coolness factor. So when his birthday comes around, I designate this day "MTV Day".

I have my brother to thank for many things. He was great at developing my sense of humor. He would make me do impressions for his friends of Andy Kaufman and others. I still hold dearly videos that he and his buddies made back in the day. They were pretty clever for such young kids. After he passed away, I became good friends with a lot of his pals. In fact, one is my best man, Dan, and another is a groomsman, Jimmy.

One of my teenage idols, Jim Morrison, wrote a poem about Brian Jones, former member of The Rolling Stones, who died from "misadventure", entitled "Ode To L.A. While Thinking Of Brian Jones, Deceased". I find a line from it touching and appropriate for my feelings:

You've left your

Nothing

to compete

w/Silence

I hope you went out

Smiling

Like a child

Into the cool remnant

of a dream