My brother would turn 24 today.
I can't seem to get away from him these days. This is the city where he went to school, not too far from where I live. I used to fly out here to visit him when he was in college, and I keep passing by diners and stores that I would go to with him.
I hate how much I can't easily remember. Tiny things like what day he died (6/22/12, I think), what kind of plays he liked (Neil Simon, Sarah Ruhl), if he ever saw me play my own music (I don't think so).
My neighbor has a ton of Halloween decorations - lots of orange lights, pumpkins, skeletons. On their lawn, there is a family of ghosts - One for mom, one for dad, and one for each kid. I thought it was cute the first time I saw it, didn't really think about it too much. Yesterday, I read the kid's names - one was Quinn, my brother's name. I made it to the end of the street, and then I just kind of... broke.
He was named after this song, which my Mom's college roommate sang incessantly. I sang it at his funeral - we got every one of his musically-inclined friends together to form a band for it. Everybody there sang along, and we probably played it for about 8 minutes. To this day, probably the best audience I've had.
I'll probably be updating this all day with bits and pieces I remember about him.
EDIT: I made a thing.
Happy Birthday Quinn. I'm sorry that he died Brendan. He's lucky to have a brother like you, marking the occasion. The "thing" you made is beautiful, sad and appropriate. Quinn is not a common name, it's odd that the neighbor has a ghost in their yard with your brothers name on it. That seems beyond coincidence, you know? I think that's pretty neat, actually. Thank you for telling us about him. If he had been able to hear your music, I'm certain he would have been impressed. Hard not to be. I hope that some of your remembrances bring you joy today along with the inevitable sorrow. Cheers pal.