Two brothers

The friend that I have had the longest is one that I met on the school bus when I was 11 years old.  We pretty much grew up together and he is one of my very favorite people in the world.  We spent everyday in middle school and most days in high school either together or at least talking to each other on the phone.  This friend was a boy and his name is Ty.  Ty lived with his dad (Darryl) and his brother (Chad).  Darryl lived with his two boys like how you would imagine any single dad with two boys would live.  It was loud and it was fun.  The two boys that Darryl raised could not have been any different but they were raised exactly the same.  Darryl was always around but there were many days and nights that we were left to our own teenage shenanigans and he never got too mad at us for some of the ridiculous crap we did:

• The one time we got in a water balloon fight but it escalated to pulling the water hose from outside through the bathroom window to thoroughly soaking whoever it was on the other end, INSIDE THE HOUSE- I don't remember getting in trouble for that).  
• When Ty and Chad were fighting at the top of the basement steps and Daryl ran from the basement up the stairs and tossed the boys in opposite directions to break them apart as if they were dirty laundry **he was a strong dude
• Do you remember when stupid kids made each other pass out by pressing one another against a wall cut circulation off to their brains?  Here's an example of a Youtube clip if you need a better idea of how dumb we were...Yeah, we did that (Ty refused, you'll understand why he refused when you learn more about him below), I went first and passed out without much of a production.  When it was Chad's turn, he passed out and had somewhat of a seizure, we all freaked out but then he got up and started laughing and we never did it again and learned our lesson (Ty actually got mad at us for that one- Ty only got mad a few times our whole lives (or showed it anyway)).
• When Ty and Chad were fighting and Ty almost cut his arm off going through the window on the back door
• When we would sit around the dining room table chain smoking cigarettes watching Ty light stuff on fire (the cleaning lady would yell at them for almost burning down the house).  1) why didn't we get in trouble for burning stuff 2) why didn't we get in trouble for smoking?

So Darryl, raised two brothers and they were so VERY different from one another.

So you get the point, while they were so very different, they loved each other so very much.   Ty was Chad's biggest cheerleader.  If no one believed in Chad, Ty always did.  Chad was always intrigued by and proud of Ty.  When we were young adults and Ty was struggling with sharing some important things with me, Chad called me up.  He told me all about it because he knew his brother was afraid and he was his brother's keeper.  Chad broke Ty's important news to me because he knew he needed to do it for his brother when his brother needed it the most.

Chad passed from Ty and the rest of his friends and family last Friday.  My heart breaks for Ty and Daryl, and the rest of their family and friends.  While it has been a few years since I've talked to Chad, he was a big part of my childhood and I'll miss him.  I am thankful for his friendship and I am thankful for the role he played in the molding of one of my lifelong friends.  

Dear Chad, I wish we would have known your time was borrowed.  Look over your brother like you always have.