This man was my best friend Brooke’s father.
I’m posting this here because I can’t get home to be with my friend and her family right now… and I wish more than anything I could. No, she won’t read this, but it makes me feel like I’m doing something useful. And he was cool and I want to share with you all.
Mr. White (“call me Mike” he always told me) was a really, really cool dad. I always thought Brooke and Mike and Danny (her two younger brothers) were lucky because they had the “cool parents” of our group of friends. They were the kind of parents that you didn’t mind hanging out with while waiting for your friend to come home. The night before I left for California, we stopped by Brooke’s so we could say hi to her folks. I’m glad I did.
The first time I met Mr. White, I was in 9th grade. He looks just like his brother, who is a local news reporter. We were all a bit in awe of him. Add to that the fact that he was a “drug czar”, and he had this great mystique wrapped around him. I remember he kept asking me astronomy questions for some reason, and I knew every one. He kept giving me cookies as a joke reward, and poor Becca couldn’t get any answers right. He gave her one “so she wouldn’t feel left out.”
I remember one New Year’s eve, we were at Brooke’s hanging out, and he and his wife made us all wear funny hats. No reason why, they thought it would be fun. Her parents were a wonderful team, husband and wife for 25 years, and they were still best of friends.
The obituary in the Journal sums up the details of his life pretty well, and they even sort of capture his spirit. But I’m going to miss hearing stories from Brooke about how her dad “bought some RAMS” for his computer (he wasn’t very good with technology) or how he was climbing in trees to cut branches that came too close to the house. And yes, he did once cut the branch he was sitting on.
I just wanted to share a few memories I had of him here. He was a warm, funny, caring, wonderful dad to a few of my favorite people. I wish I could be there for them tomorrow at his funeral, but I can’t. They understand, but it’s hard being far away from people you love when they’re in need. Heh, before I left, Mr. White said to me “Promise you’ll be back for Brooke’s wedding!” She’s getting married in 5 months. I wish her dad could be there to see it.
