Back To The Stars

Image from BOTA.org

My brother-in-law died last Wednesday morning, the day after surgery. His vascular system was too weak to sustain his blood flow.

I miss him.

I was going to post a picture of him, but none of pictures I have really captures his smile, his gravelly voice, his unique sense of humor.

He answered the door one morning; the guy at the door was delivering a dumpster.

"Hi, I'm from Solid Waste," said the guy.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, man," said my brother-in-law.

He knew more about esoteric disciplines than anyone else I know. He met a Mason once and stunned the guy with how much he knew about Freemasonry.

"Only Masons are supposed to know that," said the guy.

"The knowledge is out there, man. You just have to look for it," said my brother-in-law.

When we were busy cleaning and painting Joe's parents' house, an evangelical Christian proselytizer came around. We sent him to the side of the house to talk to my brother-in-law. My brother-in-law talked to the guy for around an hour, explaining the hidden (dare I say "occult"?) meanings of the Bible verses the guy quoted. He quietly blew the proselytizer's mind.

"Keep on reading that Bible, man, but look deeper," said my brother-in-law.

I didn't see him all that often, maybe once or twice a year. He had such a presence, such a good, loving heart, that I just... miss him being on this Earth. Knowing him, though, I'm pretty sure he'll be back.