When I think about Brion I think about how when I met him for the first time he somehow could bridge the world between warmth and welcoming, while saying very little at the same time. 

 

I also think about the sitting at the dinner table with him and telling him about what I'm doing or what is going on with my job or life and his incredibly quiet and precise questions that he would ask that still have me thinking about what my answer is or should be. And how be they craft my own thinking today. 

 

I think about the incredibly funny times where he is just cracked me up by not trying to be funny but because I knew he was being a completely honest about how he felt. In his reactions were so sincere but also very hilarious as well. 

 

I also think about the wonderful times of his pure humanity and honesty. When my oldest daughter was born, Brion had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's. He looked at her with such loving eyes; I asked him if he would like to hold her, he looked at me with a  nervous look that I had never seen from him and said "I'm scared to hold her, I don't want to drop her." Eventually we found him a safe spot that he felt comfortable sitting in and he was able to hold her. He looked at her with a glowing warmth as she held his finger.

 

I really enjoyed listening to his stories when he was in the mood to tell them, as he usually had several jokes laid into a series of serious events. I'll miss his stories about his family and about the latest kookie thing his mom was up to, or one of the things he rebelled against that his parents tried to instill in him. Especially about having to line up all the rocks in the rock garden. 

 

I'll also remember the delight on Brion's face after we had stayed with him through a rough storm in the house had lost power, but we were still able to make him his scalding hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. 

 

Or the time when we had a heavy snowfall and I went out and cleared the driveway and Brion looked at me and asked if I needed to take a break because it was a "really big project".

 

Stephan