Missing My Brother

   It was about this time seventeen years ago that my brother, Richard, then age 63, went out to shovel snow and died suddenly.  Four years older than I, he was always a huge presence in my life. A fascinating conversationalist he was always thinking about something and loved to discuss his thoughts while listening attentively to my opinions.
   Joanne, Lisa and I were in Hanoi, Vietnam when we received the news.  This was in the infancy of the internet and we were not then online.  We returned to our hotel after dinner and the proprietor broke the news to us...in a very gracious and caring manner.
   It is one of those griefs for which there is no "closure".  The best we can do is learn to live with it.
   Now he is being remembered with a memorial in the county  museum of the county where he was living at the time of his death.  The following article from The Volga Tribune attests to his unusual gifts of leadership.