A Message to My Best Friend

I can not believe a year has passed already…

Not a day goes by where I don’t think of you, what you would say, or wish I could send you a pic of this clown in front of me walking down DPA.

This has been a very hard year, for not only me, but most of the people you have impacted along the way. There have been happy times…..and sad times, but more often than not, the nights involve our best reenactments of coming up with all the crazy things you would be saying if you were there.

The only thing that helps me through is that I know I would not be the person I am today if I did not meet you. I could never explain the impact you have had on me. We grew up together; caused way too much trouble; and then somehow developed into full-fledged adults with careers. You were the best man at my wedding; saw the birth of my first child; and then lived around the corner as my new neighbor in the “fine, fine village of Babylon”.

I do not remember life without you being in it.

You became my wife’s best friend, an uncle to my child, and a person who I knew I could and would depend on for anything. You would check on Crystal when I was out-of-town for business, stop by unexpected just to play with Jackson, and always put the people around you first.

For someone with the biggest heart I’ve ever seen, you still had the ability to say the most messed up things at the most inappropriate times, and get away with it….one of the things I loved about you. You could joke about AIDS, abortion, racism, or anything else you thought would offend the people in the room, no matter who was around you. Yet, somehow, even around the shadiest people, it was always taken as the joke that somehow only you could pull off…

Bob Sheppard……boo hoo you pussies. I’m glad that scabby headed bastard is gone.

It’s bullshit Aaron Hernandez’s jersey is so expensive now. I’m going to buy one anyways…can’t wait to wear it to the bar.

You are missed more than you could ever know, and it is hard to do anything without thinking about you. Even people who never met you still talk about your speech at my wedding and how it was the best they’ve ever heard.

Even though you are not here, it is amazing how impactful you still are. Even Jackson saw a photo of you the other day and said “there’s Uncle Tommy”.

I miss you more than I could ever explain, but I am honored to have ever known you, let alone be able to call you my best friend.

I know you’re watching over me and I hope to see you again someday.

I love you kid.