Brotherhood

Will and I met while we both worked at Walmart in Greenville, Michigan. It happened like any other time you meet a like-minded person, conversation just automatically exists. We became friends and he even helped me out with a place to stay.

During this time I had been going through some pretty tough life situations. Not to mention, heading fast down a nowhere path with no idea how to get there. 

We had many good laughs in the garage days of our friendship. Will and I spent a lot of time in that cold concrete shell wrenching on mechanical turds of our time with the thrum of the air compressor mixed with the overplayed beats of the local classic rock station. Once in a while, I would jam out a ridiculous tune on the old beat-up garage guitar for the occasional guests. None of it made much sense, but most found it quite amusing.

When the weather turned sunny and warm we had a couple of good trips down the river in the canoe. Then, out of nowhere, I get a call from my mother that my grandmother had passed away in the hospital. The hammer of life came with a swift smack upside my head with a vicious crack, awakening a guaranteed session of deep despair never imagined in my existence so far. I tried my hardest to shut everyone out, but knowing my truck at the time was down and no way to get to Indiana to be with my family, Will tried everything in his power to get my ass down there. He left me to be when necessary but watched ever close so that I would not fall too far. My parents decided to come up and get me, but I will never forget what that man immediately tried to do for me in that situation. 

In the ever-changing atmosphere of life, I eventually decided to move back down to Indiana to be closer to my hurting family. I stayed in touch with Will anytime I could. When it came time for his wedding I made damn sure I was there to party like idiots, and help with anything I could. As my family and I mended our wounds I became anxious for an adventure. I wanted to venture and explore, go out of my comfort in everything I've known since childhood.

I spent a lot of time wandering around after my grandmother passed. Moved down to Texas for a while. Didn't like that at all, but I would still give Will a call when I had something in my head to speak with him about. Then I moved back to Indiana around the Goshen/Elkhart area. I had a decent job and a cheap place to live, but because this life has many twists and turns I ended up without both. 

My next move, and brilliant idea, was to head back to Michigan. I had been chatting more frequently with Will and the idea sounded just absolutely peachy to me and Will, due to the fact he had something in mind that intrigued me.

Will spoke more and more about backpacking. The idea of putting some camping gear in a bag and walking out in the wild to sleep sounded fantastic to me. He had been probing into all kinds of gear choices and I listened intently about all of it. I started to acquire my gear and our first plan was to walk to a local campground, spend the night, then walk back. It was about a twelve-mile deal walking on roads. We took on this adventure a couple of times and decided we were ready for our first trail. 

Will and I decided on the Manistee River Trail. A twenty-mile loop with a section on the North Country Trail. Jay, a friend of ours, planned to come with us on this adventure. When the day came to depart for the trail I had only a vague notion of what Will and I were about to embark on.

The trail itself was fantastically beautiful and we were all in amazement. The physical aspect of it was welcomed with open arms, except maybe for Jay. It was so entirely captivating Will and I could only want more, like an addict to another drink.

At the end of the hike, we climbed in the vehicle hot and tired ready for a big meal and a shower. Our minds already on what the next adventure would be. Little did we know at the time how far in we would get. As of now in the timeline of our years involved in these adventures, we have walked hundreds of miles together and through it all we became brothers.

I got news, while out on a hike with Will, that I was now going to experience this life as a father. This news came like a hammer forcing a nail into wood. We walked on, and down that trail, once again, Will was there to talk me through it. I won't lie, I was freaking out. Not as much as freaked out a couple years later when I was two kids in and now facing an obstacle I knew not how to face alone. My ex left me and took my children with her in a noisy episode of momentary madness. The only one I knew to call on for advice, other than my mother of course, was Will. 

I have a blood brother, but to have a brother born of life's hardships and enduring tough physical strains feels, to me, like a different kind of bond. A bond so entwined that causes two grown men to have almost two-hour-long phone conversations like a couple of high school girls. Two hours of dick and fart jokes heading down spur trails discussing hiking gear and planning our next adventure. You can't ask anyone to understand this kind of brotherhood. It has to be experienced first hand.

Blood-born brothers know, without question, that you will always be brothers no matter what life throws your way. Hell, you may not even necessarily like each other, but that fusion of blood still brings both of you to brotherhood. When you gain a brother down the long dismal road of life that lacks complicity and simply is, and you feel it always will be, is just as true as a family can get. Age has no factor in this, nor does living three hours away from one another. We will remain brothers until one, or both of us, is given back to earth.