Un Día Muy Triste

Today I found out that my brother from Argentina is moving to Delaware. It was a very sad day.

Lisandro is one of those rare people I felt an immediate connection to the very first time I met him. I couldn't figure out what that connection was -- didn't really identify those feelings for several years after our first meeting.

We were at Bacchanalia in 2003. The music was good, the beer was flowing and everyone was having fun. Lisandro, sweaty and shirtless, hugged me and said, "Tim, I think of you as my American brother. Ever since the day you went with me for my naturalization ceremony when no one else did, you have been my brother."

It was then that I was able to identify those errant feelings that manifest the first time I met him. Without ever having seen the man before, I immediately felt protective of him. The feelings were fraternal. Time and familiarity only increased those feelings. I grew to dearly love my brother from Argentina.

(I can't say I completely believe in reincarnation, but if it exists, surely we were related in a past life. I have no other explanation for the depth of my feelings.)

There are many Lisandro stories and perhaps I will document some of them here. But today, I am just so sad to be losing the light of his intelligence and the sparkle of his wit that I can barely type. He and his family will be moving to Delaware at the end of the month.

So I can enjoy him for a few more weeks. Damn.