Brady Douglas Whalen
I spent the time following Bradys death trying to organize my thoughts. I kept trying to understand the reasons for a life cut short by an all consuming addiction.
Brady was a loyal, loving, caring and passionate to all his friends and family. He was such an open minded person that no matter who he met they were instantly new friends.
He also put the same amount of enthusiasm into his life passions of cooking and being a real foodie. He came alive when in the kitchen.
I so enjoyed hearing all the stories of Bradys adventures with his friends. Those stories encouraged some of my own storeis.
Brady, latter in life, would give anything and everything he had to help anyone he met that was in need. He did not, however, start out being so generous. One time when he was just a toddler his family came to visit. He was constantly told he had to learn to share with his visiting cousin Wayne R Whalen III. Grandma brought donouts in the house and left them on the counter. I came into the kitchen to find Brady on a stool licking each donut and saying mine.
Brady loved to fish. One early fishing trip found Brady and I exploring the Saint John river in Uncle Bills bass boat. We were out late at nignt and Brady was using our new spot light. He was having a blast shinning the light up on shore in peoples houses etc. Well, about an hour into the trip a game warden came out to investigate. When we said it was a son and dad trip he tried to be diplomatic with us. He asked if we had seen any "scum on the water". We laughed until we cried after the warden motored off.
Brady was very much into soccer until he reached highscool age. Once he reached highschool he left sports behind. I still tried to get him to enjoy running with me. On a trip to Alaska for a marathon I was running, he gave me some very insightful coaching directions. He waited in the cold, rain and sleet for 4 hours waiting on me to cross the finish line. He told me I was going to have to run faster or carry a phone and call him when I was finishing.
When Brady graduated high school he was rewarded with a snow ski vacation anywhere he wished to travel. He picked Banft. On the fist day of skiing he broke his arm. I was worried he would have the worst trip of his life left behing in town unable to ski with everyone else. I came back from skiing and found him surrounded by "new friends" in one of the local bars. He was of course getting free drinks from everyone trying to make up for being left behind by his terrible Dad who was out skiing.
Last story, Brady came up with a great saying at my 50th Birthday. A large group of us were at Cedar Key drinking and celebrating. We wound up riding the swings at a playground. The older folks were having trouble with our adult beverages while swinging. Brady instructed us to " Drink on the upswing".
I could go on and on. I hope that the sharing of such tales of Brady doesn’t not end here. I hope that we all continue to keep his memory alive by sharing all the great and memorable times that he gave to us as his magnificant gift.
From Brady's favorite author.
The Edge....There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gove over.
Hunter S. Thompson