Comments on: Gone 25

By: Alan Levine aka CogDog

Alan Levine aka CogDog — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:32:01 +0000

No words, Robin, no words can say what I feel after reading your own story.

Just tell it.

By: Robin2go

Robin2go — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:26:15 +0000

I guess we all have our own personal ghosts that whisper to us in telling moments. My brother, ten years older than I, died at the age of 21, borrowing a motorcycle to get back for course registration at college, where he was registering for his senior year. That journey ended in a phone call, which was the only time I’ve ever seen my father cry.

Fast forward to the jarring moment several months ago of a ringing phone in the middle of the night, police notifying me that my daughter had been hit by an SUV while she was coming home on her scooter. The collision of my past and my present took over, my body acting on instinct alone. I lost the ability to breathe, and somehow found my vehicle at the site of the accident, where my daughter’s bike lay, totalled, among police cars and ambulances.

My father had to bury his 21 year old after his accident. My 21 year old, miraculously, walked away. But the ghost from my childhood watches on, and nudges me in the dark. Thank you for sharing your story because, sometimes, I forget.

By: Cole

Cole — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:09:20 +0000

Thank you, Alan. Touching and moving.

By: Judy Griffith

Judy Griffith — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:03:11 +0000

Thanks, Alan for another wonderful tribute to our brother. My memories are stronger as I remember David sitting in the swing with me. I remember him sitting in that rocking chair, rocking back and forth for hours. As I lit a candle in his memory, I thought about all those memories long ago on Ridgewood Ave in Baltimore.

By: Alan Levine aka CogDog

Alan Levine aka CogDog — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:14:07 +0000

You found the right words, Shannon, for sure. Wishing peaceful memories of Ryan and your Dad. Telling their story is what keeps the flame alive.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:56:55 +0000

Jim said it well. This is a piece of beautiful poetry.

This post really resonated with me. I have moments where I wonder “what if?”. About my dad and my cousin Ryan. Ryan would have been 32 yesterday. He died when he was 24, the age I am now, it is a strange feeling.

Thanks again for this post. Wish I could find the right words to convey how much it meant to me to read today.

By: Jim Groom

Jim Groom — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:16:56 +0000

These posts about your family are always deeply moving for me, but I must say the ones of your brother both haunt and fascinate me to no end. And this one right here may be the most powerful piece of poetry I have yet to read on the cogdogblog.