Around 8:30 last night, my mom called me with news we expected but didn't want to hear: my brother Andrew died at Renown Hospital at the age of 54. He had been in the hospital for an operation to remove a beningn but troublesome brain tumor. It was affecting his vision so much he had to stop driving a truck, which he had been doing for several years. He was living in a mobile home with my mom in Fallon, 60 miles east of Reno. They were having a good life.
He was the guy who convinced me to get a warehouse job in Fernley, and later Reno, after I had an awful time trying to get a job after losing my overnight job at KFBK in Sacramento. At the very least, I credit him with helping me find a new life after more than 20 years in radio.
It was looking for a while that he was going to recover. He was even home long enough to get me to buy him a beer he was planning to enjoy on New Year's Eve. For all I know, the beer is still in the refrigerator. However, when he mentioned he had problems going to the bathroom, he started to decline. He had liver problems over the years, and that had a role in his health problems.
We tried to be close although we had been living in different parts of the country after I graduated from college. At least his hospital stay gave us a chance to reconnect. I also got to be reunited with two of my brothers, too. It felt good, but it would have felt even better if he had recovered completely. From what I was told, the end was a relief for him.
Over the past 25 years, I have lost two older siblings along with Andrew. I still have an older brother who I keep tabs with, but it's always difficult to lose a family member. My mom is about to turn 85,and I have to prepare for the fact that she'll also be gone, too.
Anyway, I will miss Andrew and be grateful for the family I still have,
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