Circa 1994

I first met Justin in the winter of 1994 through his brother Adam. I had Adam over to my house a couple times to play video games. One afternoon after getting off the bus Justin turned to me and said “I hear you have a Super Nintendo, can I come over too?”.

It seemed like he was always there over the next few years. I would go over to their house to hang out or help with chores so they could come over to my house sooner to play video games. I still remember the Super Street Fighter II Turbo tournaments and the Mario Kart racing. He was always smiling, joking and laughing, I’m not sure there was anything he took very seriously.

I would make sure he was invited to everything, including overnight parties, and not just because he was always the first one asleep thus taking all the pranks. Everything was always more fun when Justin was there

Very often little decisions we all make in life are the ones that have dramatic long lasting effects. There are few decisions I can look back on that have changed my life like letting Justin hang out with us. I gained a friend, a brother, my biggest cheerleader and a model for how I live my life.