Kieron Go Bragh

July Drive

2011-07-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

for the last time, yesterday around noon, we rode together again-
silence steals tangible, but in my grasp again we talked-
on the way to dad, this time II at the wheel, we laughed again-
Ere three, these two were soon to be, again-
another grave reminder; because often I forget-
but probably never again...

kpf/mrf

2011-05-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

bro, give him a hug for me...these days not easy w/o either of you.

dad

2011-03-26T01:26:00.000-07:00

awwww keek, cut it out....

pictures

2011-03-22T22:27:00.000-07:00

I saw pictures of Kieron tonite...of when Kieron was Keek. Whoever left them on our kitchen counter had no idea what emotions they unveiled.

His smile was completely contagious, and if you were near it, you too would be infected.

Tonite I'd give my heart away to be in the same room looking at Keek's smile. I want him back...

3/18/2011

2011-03-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

So it's done...your second birthday away.

Didn't see dad, or mom, or any siblings on the 50th year of you.

B-day presents bro...

Such is the sad reality presented when we're presented by death.

Lively occasions - remarkable days like the half-century mark of a birth - don't play out.

Fuck the whole notion

50

2011-03-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

The eve of your 50th birthday Kieron.

With you, I envision a reflective Thursday, drinking Jameson's and engaging in another colorful conversation.

Without you, I'll still reflect... and I'll continue to miss you, your insight, your unique outlook on life.

I'll reflect on the impact and influence you had on me. I hate using the past tense because it reminds me of your absence. Also because it's not accurate; your influence guides me every day. Tomorrow will be no different.

Nevertheless, happy birthday.

I miss you.

I love you.

Michael

times like these

2011-03-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

stalwart and humble KPF, is what you were...today we missed that...guide me more

March 2011

2011-02-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

When an acquaintance, even a new one, relates to me a moment with their brother I grab a hold. When I hear a story about a brother, I instantly become the best audience this storyteller could ever imagine having. Please reveal a happenstance that allows me to imagine you.

I miss you brother, our times and more than anything those which should have occurred.

My promise: this year, beginning with 3/2011, I will make moments that carry on your essence. As time accumulates, your stamp on life will be revived and celebrated instead of the alternative...I will not let what you stood for fade away.

The cruel reality of your fate will never rest easy in me...at times, most of the time, I cannot find peace without having you here.

It saddens me to watch my children fight. While their not old enough to cherish it yet, in time they will understand that a brother's bond is one of life's greatest strengths.

I love you Kieron.

"Life"

2011-01-13T22:25:00.000-08:00

Thoughts that wouldn't otherwise derive permeate my mind tonight.

Reason being, life has taken a dimented twist over the last five years, particularily in the last year and especially tonight, the one year mark - to this very hour - of Kieron's death.

Tonight the word life is at my mind's forefront. It needs a new meaning, an altogether different name. Because until recently a large part of life was Kieron. That's over now, and it's not easy redefining it.

Thoughtful ones might suggest Kieron's death, and death itself, is part of life. They're right...it's hard to argue, unless you knew Kieron. If you knew Kieron there's a retort, a natural rebuttal: Kieron was life. At least the one I knew.

His senseless passing convolutes its entire meaning.

In this circle the life I understand lacks luster. He was so full of it and it so full of him that its mere mention sounds foreign.

Life less Kieron must be renamed. Now as it stands, a great deal of its significance left.

1/1/11

2011-01-11T20:52:00.000-08:00

KIERON!
KIERON!
KIERON!

I was such a believer in you! Your outlook continues to mold me.

2010 and Kieron Finnegan

2011-01-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Jan 8th 2011 - 5 days away.

3/17/10; summertime 2010; fall and football 2010, holiday season 2010...2010 and all of its precious milestones differed.

The list of reasons that make death (especially a young, inexplicable one) unfair is neverending. What saddens me of late is one's legacy, or memorialization. As time passes since one's last day, he/she is discussed less and less...and so the memory tends to fade.

Maybe, hopefully I'm wrong, and the reason we talk less about Kieron since 1/13/2010 is because the sting of the loss lessens.

Kieron's legacy is no more championed by me than anyone else that loved him. But I cry out and this my promise: the more time multiplies, bigger becomes the room in my heart and mind for treasuring him.

Kieron Go Bragh, and ever.

808

2010-06-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight I drive, and across the radio words ring Kieron. And he sits in the empty seat next to me, and we're on our way.

Talk about free...no worries... us, a dog, a cooler, a wad of fishing poles, and an obligation to wake up with the sun, to cast a line. And talk.

We were free. I was safe. He made it that way. He'd talk to me, ask questions that'd make me feel important because he'd listen with intent.

And when one of our taut lines yanked, he'd say "there". If it was his 808, I'd watch him as he set the hook, and felt his excitement. He'd reel, rod bowed, while my eyes alternated between his face and dancing line. Talk about free; there's no recollection I cherish more.

I loved Kieron Finnegan. I wonder where could he be, and what happened. He was beautiful. I look up in the bluebird sky, or the black sky, and wonder where he is.

Distance

2010-05-17T21:55:00.000-07:00

Ironic it is that alive as I am, I feel closer to Death than I probably should. I go to bed with it every night and it awakens me most mornings. Of course I knew it was tough. Heresay told me as much...but I never knew just how tough b/c we were never formally introduced.

Kieron decided to be the liason on January 13th.

Now it's like an arch enemy. Now, quickly, we're familiar - last Thursday marks the four month anniversary of our acquaintance.

Death makes a God-awful first impression. But the lasting impression is in its follow-up work: Death makes memories wane. For sure, not many mention my brother much these days.

Dear Death: You can't take him from me.

2010 firsts, without

2010-04-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

2010 means lots of meaningful days w/o Kieron. The first was his birthday, 3/17/2010. Today was my first birthday ever without my brother...43 years. It was also the baptism of our neice and nephew, Henry Finn and Juliet Guyton...another monumental day unshared by their proud uncle. Tuesday will be my son's 9th birthday, again the first w/o his uncle. As the months turn, more precious dates will endure and pass w/o Kieron. Special days in 2010 remain special but when I awake on these memorable mornings I think of Kieron first, and how much more special they were. Happy Easter bro, I miss the magic your smile made these days more magical. Good heavens how I miss you.

78 days

2010-04-01T22:45:00.000-07:00

Losing my brother, and sharing a night with death at its onset and its reckoning, wrenched me...its aftermath does too, especially.

Especially the aftermath because with each day after, I am separated that much more by his last day. That it's now his death that ages instead of his life leaves it nearly unbearable.

So painfully and plain to see, but were it not for his exuberance for life; and mine for his.

Kieron Go Bragh

PS: April's 4th and 6th marks the birth dates of mine and Patrick's, respectively. One April 4th Kieron Patrick bought me a white polo shirt that I wore all spring with pride. Rest assured Patrick will be wearing a new white polo to school next Wednesday.

Happy Birthday Keek, we love you

2010-03-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Keek!

I miss you so much.
I hope you can see all of us that miss you.
I love you very, very much.

Love Sarah Riley and family

Happy Birthday

2010-03-17T06:27:00.000-07:00

I knew this day, your first b-day gone, would make no sense.

Slan Go Bragh

2010-03-13T00:35:00.000-08:00

Irony is compelling. And you always found, and often spoke to me about the irony in life.

In 2010, on Jan 13th, you died on a Wednesday. Your 49th birthday, 3/17/2010, is next Wednesday.

Goodbyes, even simple ones, are uneasy for me and were for you too...and so how unimaginable is it to say goodbye to you, my most loved one. I didn't tell you on Jan 13th...I didn't say it at St. Francis. Because saying goodbye to you then, and now, means forever goodbye.

I tresaure your voice...tonite I can clearly hear you say "so long".

And from now until forever, I'll long for you.

Good Bye. I love you.

2010-01-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

Died. Kieron died two wednesdays ago. He was just 48 years old...taken by some alien disease that touches nearly noone save an unlucky few.

To lessen the blow we use cliches about dying: "The agony is over...the suffering is gone...he's in a better place." Kieron agaonized over cliches. His better place was here...living, writing about here, experiencing here. Kieron was too young to die, and everyone knows it.

Life robbed Kieron. I looked at pictures of Kieron tonight and selfishly felt robbed of a precious life. Others and even I will reason out loud or think: what about the 42 years I was given of Kieron. But clarity prevails. He was too young.

Wednesday January 13th marks the day of forever mourning. For however rare Picks is the tragedy of a lost loved one is not. But the bite is no less, and tonite I curse the short stick he drew.

A celebration of life (another cliche)? Maybe...but tonite it's more of a scoff of life's cruelty.

JD Salinger died yesterday, two Wednesdays after Kieron. No irony except they were both writers who died on a Wednesday. Salinger was 91, published, world renown.

Kieron and I laughed together when we talked about Holden Caulfield.

2009-12-05T22:57:00.000-08:00

I miss you Kieron, and I need you bro, our talks...I'm so sick and tired of not having you

2009-11-29T02:44:00.000-08:00

This is your last year? No more thanksgivings, or christmases - selfishly, I hope they're wrong.

If I'm in your beautifully selfless shoes, I hope otherwise - that maybe this awful outlook should become...

You wouldn't want this...this pathetic form of "life", rather this non-life that who knows how has fallen upon you.

It's cowardice not going down there. But I can't look at it anymore. I'm not leaving you high and dry bro - you wouldn't want me or anyone to see you like this. You didn't know self-pity, ever, and you wouldn't ever want me or anyone else to pity you either. You'd spit at this.

So let this wretchedness go away.

Thanksgiving: hard to imagine what I give thanks to...but at this moment it's thanking you for being the brother who I love in every strecth that that word encompasses...

eff the nightmares...what I hope to dream about tonight is one of those times we shared that were utterly perfect. There's nothing I wouldn't give to have just an afternoon like the ones we shared.

1:30 am

2009-10-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

6 hrs before the 3rd race in your name, and although I'm grateful for all the showing of support, I'm listless. It's also the eve of OU/TX and normally we'd be pumped this morning, hanging, figuring out how to get inside Fair Park...

I'm tired of you not being here. It's so easy to say I miss you, but so hard for me and everyone else who knew you to understand why you're gone. It's why we made this race I guess.

But when I really reflect, it's helpless. I, helplessly, want you back. Cards of life suck sometimes...

I love you.

Twins

2009-10-08T22:48:00.000-07:00

A day and week before the 3rd Kieron Go Bragh 5k...more importantly, the day OF the beginning of not one, but two new lives of the Finnegan clan.

In about 6 hours, Suzanna Finnegan-Guyton, the youngest of us six, is due to give birth to twins - Henry Finn and Juliet. Kieron would write something unique about this phenomenal morning...and relish that his baby sister, later this morning, was to become a mother.

I miss Kieron's unusual thoughts on special occasions like this. Through his quirky writings and offbeat comments, what always lay underneath was something compelling and uncommonly insightful. He'd say something like how special this monumental time was because of how Suzanna has come full-circle as the baby of the family, and into the nurturing mother we all knew she'd be... mind you Kieron would write this in much more capturing rhetoric.

I'm five years older than Suzanna. Kieron is five years older than me. My son, Patrick, is five years older than my youngest daugher, Emma. Often I watch my two youngest interacting and it brings me back to Suzanna and I years ago. I remember being proud to be her big brother... but never so much as I am now. My little sister will be a mom by this time tomorrow and I'm overjoyed...for her, for her husband Jon, for all of us - including Kieron. I think the timing is perfect.

2009-08-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

Preparations for the the 3rd annual Kieron Go Bragh (2009) have begun and it looks like the race has found a new home - Frisco! Frisco is home to not only my family and Christine's, but also the new home my mom and brother Damon.

It's mid-August as I write, no doubt Kieron's favorite time of year as it's the dawning of another football season...his faves were Notre Dame (excpet when he attended SMU in early 80's) and the Cowboys. Don't know that he would like the upcoming inaugural kick-off at Dallas' new state-of- the-art facility...Kieron liked old school. Part of our bond was sealed watching the Cowboys play at Irving's Texas Stadium. Sounds like typical armchair quarterback talk, but we were passionate fans....young, having fun, and not knowing days like those, spent together cheering fervishly for our Cowboys, were numbered.

Picks has completely riddled Kieron's mind these days. Noone knows for sure even when the disease set in...but it's obvious to me and the few that see Kieron frequently that he's at the latter stages. He's but a shell of the vibrant, uniquely colorful and insightful person we all grew up with and admired.

But I've written enough about the tragic facet of it all, the unfairness...life's cards are mysterious and often as unfair as Goliath, but the backbone of the foundation and the 5k is built upon fighting for a cure and I want for this space to focus on raising awareness about the disease.

Kieron's family, this race, has as its focus to grow numbers and in turn dollars fighting against this cognitive brain disease known as Pick's. And so our efforts are concentrated on making the 3rd Kieron Go Bragh Foundation again bigger than the last.

Good night bro...i used to not think it a good idea but I will make sure that you are present at this year's race. And I look forward to seeing you at the finish line.

r u awake?

2009-03-27T23:41:00.000-07:00

Wondering if Kieron is awake grasping any memory he might have, and if so if perhaps it's a memory of him and me.

A recent one occured 10 days ago on his 48th birthday, when the two of us and our mom celebrated the special occasion eating his cake, and drinking a cold beer. He didn't/couldn't say a word but flashed several smiles. No doubt he was happy and although his disease makes these types of moments fleeting, it was special.

Noone knows how much we need him these days. What is Picks? How/why is he one of the few?

Kieron

2009-02-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

3 months after the Kieron Go Bragh run and only now do I write about what a great success it turned out to be...

But it was only a race, and though the cause is so very worthwhile, my brother falls deeper into the dregs of this dreadful disease.

Kieron Finnegan is special. Ask me how special and I'll gladly tell anyone with an interest. Though a shell of his essence, he remains special. Embedded in my heart - and I curse the day his true essence came to a halt - is how special he is.

I love you Kieron. I never told you how much I love you. We never told each other. But we lived it, and shared it, didn't we. And I miss you. I'm sorry.

Times like these...

2008-12-06T23:22:00.000-08:00

The archetype big brother has been written about before. To me, it's a mixed feeling of idolatry and comfort...that when he's with you, you feel no fear and an enormous sense of security.

It's camping in the cold, and being asked if you're warm...and when you answer "no", it's your big brother uncovering himself with one of only two blankets, draping you with both, then leaving the tent to find more firewood so he can add to the dwindling fire. I figure he did this without thinking because already his heart was warm enough. I figure too that he inherited his warm heart from our father.

How could I not feel this warm feeling of comfort when we were together, as there are many recollections like this...

Like the time my skin had been scorched by the Texas sun on a June fishing trip, and he of the same fare skin soaked towels in cold water and baking soda and laid them across my back.

Like the time when I was 15 and after violently breaking my ankle he sprinted a 1/2 mile to safety, cradling me in his arms like his own. It was the only time I ever wept in front of him. He never mentioned it.

And like the time he surprised me in CT, after just landing in NYC from France and making the three hour drive just to watch me pitch. It was the only time any of my family watched me play high school baseball. He made it for the first pitch. We won, and he took me to dinner that night where we had a celebratory beer. It was the first beer I'd ever had in a restaurant - he ordered it for himself and covered me (I was underage) as I proudly drank it.

It times like these that I miss about Kieron. He was the brother that people write about.

Kieron Go Bragh 2009

2008-11-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

Goals give life more purpose, right? We accomplish some and fail at others. Success sometimes can be measured by those which we accomplish. Just as much, our failures quickly turn into valuable life lessons. Thus, establishing goals and pushing to meet them can only lead to good, even while failing.

My goal for the 2009 KGB 5k is 400 participants. That would be about double the amount of runners this year...very reachable. The long term goal is to find a cure for cognitive brain diseases...a dream of a goal, maybe impossible in my lifetime.

But if the race grows every year there is a chance.

Wanted to write this somewhere....400 4 2009 is the challenge for next year!

Post Race

2008-11-12T22:18:00.000-08:00

My family and I created Kieron Go Bragh Foundation and the Kieron Go Bragh 5k for a couple of reasons. First, there needed to be a charity in place to raise funds for Pick's Disease. In the medical world it's a relative unknown. Second, in the face of this God-awful tragedy that our family now knows, we were emotionally compelled to cling to something that might counter our deep sorrow and ensure that Kieron not be forgotten. Thus the name, Kieron Go Bragh, or, Kieron Forever.

Words cannot describe the sadness that one feels when a loved one is stricken with a terminal disease. I didn't know that until now...now, as reality has it, I know it very well and I wish it on no one. Watching the disease progress is hell. But what I witnessed this weekend at the race allowed me to draw a positive out the single most negative occurrence in my life.

We've never established a charitable foundation and so when we set out on this crusade in the summer of 2007 none of us really knew what to expect. We were just trying to make something worthwhile out of this unluckiness.

After the second annual Kieron Go Bragh 5k, I know the true meaning of gratitude, and thankfulness. To sit back and watch a fledgling cause grow into a real, vital, meaningful entity is in a word, fulfilling.

Several participants approached me over the weekend and thanked me and my family for putting on the race. But the real thanks goes to the Center for Brain Health and all its volunteers, Run On Texas who implemented all the logistics, and especially to all the runners and donors who contributed to the Kieron Go Bragh Foundation and "Ran for Research". Without all of you, our cause would still be fledgling.

The race grew by well over 100%, meaning research funds grew by that much too. We've now got momentum and head into the 2009 race with great expectations.

To the returning runners, to the new runners, to all the kind people who travelled from out of town to participate, to all those who sent in donations, the Finnegan family extends a warm thanks and big dose of gratitude. We're overwhelmed.

My brother Kieron was big on kind deeds. He'd think this massive showing of support and fight was something to talk about.

Let's keep the momentum strong and continue to make Kieron Go Bragh a known cause.

Thanks to everyone, and KIERON GO BRAGH-
Michael Finnegan

Kieron's tunes

2008-11-06T23:08:00.000-08:00

It's late Thursday night, two eves before the second annual Kieron Go Bragh 5k. For the race this year I made a song list...

Like Kieron I'm not high on cliches but it was bittersweet selecting which songs to blair over the sound system down at Reverchon Park in a few days.

The criteria was easy for me. Kieron was into his music. I'm sure his taste in music was heavily influenced by his high school days in the late 70's and one year of prep school in New England in 1980. So, the song list has a heavy dose of the sign of those times: The Who, Pink Floyd, The Eagles and The Boss, who he became enamored with at the one year of boarding school.

But his taste was also peppered with artists like Sinatra, Neil Diamond, and Willie Nelson. I included singles off soundtracks from his favorite movies. Lastly, selfishly, I added some songs that reminded me of him.

Like most friends, we liked listening to music together. Songs evoke such powerful memories, thus the bitter sweetness of this exercise. Our favorite were old Springsteen songs. We'd set out on a road trip and a constant part of our preparation, other than loading up poles, a cooler, and our dog, was choosing the music for the drive.

Several songs come to mind tonite, but one especially is Springsteen's Fade Away, one of his less popular but all-time greats. Another more popular Boss song I'm reminded of is No Surrender, one we'd sing in awful unison. One verse always gets me, and brings me back to those drives:

"Well, now young faces grow sad and old, And hearts of fire grow cold, We swore blood brothers against the wind, Now I'm ready to grow young again"...

Born to Run was Kieron's favorite and in a way seems fitting for our event the day after tomorrow!

5k

2008-10-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

The race is just 10 days away and most everything is in order. Last order of business is getting shirts printed. The design is complete and the printing process has begun. Thanks to Rubber Duck Creative for the great work on the website. Anything relative to creative, or graphics, Rich Harpel produced, and what exceptional work.

Means a good deal to me that lots of friends are coming in from out of town, all of whom knew Kieron well. I consider these friends family. They are sacrificing a weekend at their home in another state to come be a part of Kieron's foundation. Kieron would have thought this was pretty cool, that's for sure.

Emma is 21 months now and will be involved in the race. I'll be pushing her in a jogging stroller...now everyone has a chance to beat me this year, maybe.

MF, out

Kieron

2008-10-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

Tonight under a cheap lantern I wish we were sitting on the bank at Hubbard catching catfish...we mastered that. I'm sorry bro.

World Series

2008-10-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

We never had the opportunity to see a World Series together, but Kieron and I went to several Ranger games. Like me, he liked all the homer teams - Cowboys, Mavs, and Rangers, and we had some of our most fun at both Arlington Stadium and The Ball Park at Arlington.

In 1995, the second year of the new Ballpark, we went to go see The Rangers play The KC Royals. So Kieron's 34 and I'm 28...too old to be involved in what occurred that night.

The Rangers won that night and we wanted to celebrate (like the win really mattered) at our favorite post-game spot, The Hyatt right near the Ballpark. We liked to go there b/c typically it was where the Ranger's opponents stayed (and drank after the game).

We had an ongoing competition of who could identify lesser-known pro athletes. Kieron was great at pointing out the non-marquis footballers, but sucked at baseball and was even worse at basketball. As I look back, we both knew this and it was one of the few competitions he conceded to me...t became a joke between us...when it came to football though, not only could he point them out, he could also tell you where they were from and where they played college ball.

So we grabbed a beer and started shuffleboard when the first Royal walked in, Vince Coleman. Coleman was winding down on a good (and volatile) career in 1995. He made his mark with the Cardinals as an outfielder and prominent base-stealer. At the time he was probably two or three years older than Kieron.

I immediately identified him...Kieron second-guessed me but I'm pretty sure he knew. So I upped the ante and said let's go to the bar, where Coleman was. It was still very early and there weren't but three or four others at the bar.

To prove to Kieron it was Vince Coleman I said to him, "hey Vince, how did you play tonight?" Again, this guy was a known jerk, and this was his response: "you went to the game, right?" I replied yes but I just wanted to ask his opinion (seriously, I was trying to prove to Kieron this was Vince Coleman). Coleman said, "we lost dumbass, so you tell me."

I'll write it here that I felt impervious when I was Kieron. Not because he was big and yoked, but because I felt a massive sense of security when he was with me. So, naturally I popped off and said, "my bad Mr. Superstar, I was only asking because when we left you were 0-3 and I was just wondering if u managed a hit in the last inning." Coleman became unglued and literally lunged at me from three stools over. A very minor scuffle ensued... Coleman was my size, which was 4 inches shorter and 30lbs lighter than Kieron, so Kieron easily got between us. But it was the typical "you're so lucky there's someone between us" courage.

Coleman, being the MLB player, convinced the place we were in the wrong so they booted us.

On the ride home he lectured me. "Why start s#@* with a pro-athlete? You've got to be smarter than that." I didn't tell him it was because he was there. Nor did I tell him "now you know it was Vince Coleman."

We attended lots of pro baseball games together but this is the one that sticks out.

With the World Series upon us I've got to get down to his place and watch another inning with him on the tube.

Footprints

2008-10-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

With the 5k just around the corner, we're all in high gear with planning/managing the race. I like being in this mode because it deflects those helpless feelings of anguish and sorrow for Kieron. The website is nearly done and will be up and live by tomorrow. All the elements of the race are falling into place and I'm looking forward to another weekend where Kieron's loved ones, friends and supporters can gather and share about Kieron and the disease.

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the showing of support and generosity for this cause. I've been thinking about a particular gesture by a friend this week that exemplifies this type of kindness and care.

Brad Strenger and I have played together in basketball and softball leagues in and around Frisco for the last three or four years. This past weekend I was telling him about the 5k and the post-party at the Tipp Inn afterwards. Then I told him a little bit about Kieron and the disease. Genuinely, he expressed care and sadness, and I could tell he was struck. I haven't told many who did not know Kieoron...probably because it is so completely depressing, and why drop such sorrow on others. Because of Brad's reaction, and what ensued, I have a different opinion...

I got a call from Brad the next day...he wanted to talk more about Kieron. Brad's a psychology student at UTD and has an upcoming presentation. His assignment, a very broad one, is to discuss for 20 minutes any health matter. He chose to speak on Pick's Disease and The Kieron Go Bragh Foundation. At the end of his talk, he is going to pass out information on the Nov 8th 5k and the foundation.

It all gels because the clinic that diagnosed Kieron is the UTD Center for Brain Health. But more than that, Kieron and Brad would have hit it off. Kieron spent lots of time fishing and watching/playing sports with me and my friends. In turn, my buddies became his buddies. Kieron would have liked Brad because he's unpretentious, plays hard-nose defense, drinks beer, and is serious about his studies. I write this with a smile, but ask anyone close to Kieron and they would agree.

One last thought...Debbie Francis is the Board Chair at the UTD Center for Brain Health. In our first meeting last year to discuss the Kieron Go Bragh Foundation and 5k, she said something to me that left an indelible impression. In dealing with a terminal disease of a loved one, she mentioned how important it was to leave "footprints". When educating people on a disease, especially a rare one like Pick's, it's vital to spread the word whenever appropriate. The message behind footprints is this: the positive results are immeasurable, because who knows what may become of the footprints you leave. Brad's initiative reminds me of Debbie's thoughtful insight.

More football

2008-10-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

OU lost in a shootout, ND lost to North Carolina, and Cowboys lost in an exciting, bizarre game to the unpredictable Cards.

To me, a Sooner and Cowboy fan to the end, and a ND follower b/c of Kieron and my dad, this meant a weekend full of heartbreak.

But Kieron was a different fan of football. One would never know he actually had an allegiance to a particular team. Not that it was below him to follow and be a fan of the sport, but he looked at it differently. He was a hs quaterback and knew x's and o's, but he cared less about the outcome of a game as he did about the excitement, rivalry, and spirit of a particular contest. He would pay as much attention to the expressions of a diehard fan (ME or some stranger sitting 10 rows below us), and/or the specifics of a beautifully executed play as he would the score. Relative to football, his own, unique way of expressing himself is what made Kieron Kieron.

College football

2008-10-07T22:20:00.001-07:00

Well into fall which means college football galore, Kieron's favorite time of year.

This weekend is the Red River Shootout, OU vs UT. Not sure how many of these I attended with Kieron but there were many. Kieron, me, and my dad relished weekends like this, whether it was being at the game live or watching on tv at our parent's house.

As the state of things has it today, the fall - football season - is sadly, entirely different. Gearing up for the weekend preparing for two days of grilling, convening with family, throwing the football and watching college football on Saturday and the Cowboys on Sunday now takes on a new approach. Without talking betting stratgey and how OU, Notre Dame and how the Cowboys might fare against their respective opponents, something seems amiss.

We grew up die-hard Cowboy fans because we were so close to them, not only b/c of geography but also that Tex Schram was our dad's boss at one time. He would never let on to it, but Kieron loved it when the Cowyboys won and just the same hated to see them lose.

In 1981 against the Dolphins, Kieron and I went to the game with our dad. Dad was working and as was most often the case left at halftime. Thankfully we were in two cars...Kieron was 20 and old enough to drive and I was 14. Dallas was getting beat by two td's late in the 4th quarter so most of the crowd at Texas Stadium had left. We took advantage of the open seating and from the Stadium Club spotted seats open on the Cowboys side down near midfield.

So here we were, within spitting distance of our heros - Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, Too Tall Jones - not caring about the lopsided score as much as we were about the excitement of being so close. I was ecstacic...I was with my big brother, who I idolized, on a school night, watching up- close and personal the Cowboys!

Low and behold they came back and won the game in the final minutes. The final score was 28-27. Those who stayed witnessed one of the greatest last-mintue comebacks in Cowboy's history. Kieron and I were in heaven. We jumped up and down and feverishly slapped each others hands as Danny White completed pass after pass in the two-minute offense.

There is a special aura about the fall and football in Texas. Kieron loved it. I love it too and wish I could steal another football weekend in the fall where my brother and I could be fans together.

Backgammon

2008-09-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Growing up Kieron and I played hours and hours of backgammon. He learned to play in prep school - don't know why but backgammon is a staple at NE prep schools - and when he came home for Christmas in 1980 he taught me the game. I went to the same school three years later a seasoned backgammoner, and still play several times a week.

We loved to play against each other. At first it was that teacher/student element and I was just glad to be there. But later on our matches became heated much like our competitive games of one on one in hoops. Backgammon is an ironic, funny game. To me it's the oxymoron of games. You count on absolute luck at the start of every move, and rely on skill to finish it.

I played last night til dawn online. I wonder how many times I thought to myself "how would Kieron play this roll". Not because he's sick, or because I miss him, but because he taught me the game and how to best use every possible dice combination. Sometimes a roll of 1-2 can top your opponents roll of 6-6.

Not really any parellels between Backgammon and Pick's Disease. But there are between backgammon and everyday life. Like the game, life is funny; it's ironic; luck plays a huge part in all of our lives -unluckiness plays as big a part. Kieron was heavy on intellect and truly was a unique thinker. He was a voracious reader and worked on his own writings just as hard. He taught English and Literature to college freshmen and adults in continuing education. He was a tutor. He relied on his eduaction and knowledge of the classics...it was his livlihood. It's ironic and brutally funny that Pick's Disease - a cryptonite-like poison of the mind- afflicted someone like Kieron. How could Kieron be robbed of his mind of all things? It'd be like Michael Phelps drowning...

First Post

2008-09-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

One of Kieron's favorites passed away this weekend, Paul Newman. Those close to Kieron spent many of nights watching Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler, and Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Who would have known Luke's passing would go unnoticed by his biggest fan.