I know this is not the right forum.
...he was my best friend. He never posted much on this website; his handle was SlowElko (which I gave to him but I think he never really liked it) but he would read it every day. He was a kind and generous man. Sometimes gruff and hard on his friends but only because he wanted the best for them. He would do anything for his friends and family. He loved the UW Cowboys, the Cubs, the Broncos, and play golf - he enjoyed watching all sports. But above all else he loved his family and friends most of all. He was always there for me and everything you could want in a big brother. We shared a lot of good times together...driving down from Rock Springs to Provo for the WAC Tournament and throwing our soda's in the air after Leckner hit that shot; getting into the car at the last minute to drive to Salt Lake to watch the Pokes in the NCAA Tourament; going to home games, away games...football, basketball it didn't matter; sitting in the stands and Cowboy Field and watching a baseball game in the sun. I will never forget our week in Vegas last year and our MW Tournament win. He was proud of Nance and what he made himself into as a NBA player but he was also astutute enough to know how vitale role players are. I think he was more proud of Derek Cooke.
We always laughed and lamented that despite how close we were that after college we never lived closer than 400 miles from each other. Life gets in the way when you're young and there is a natural selfish streak in a person that wants to strike out on there own. After college I took a job in Atlanta while he was in his second year as an elementary school teacher in Rock Springs. He can to visit me often in Atlanta and I tried to talk him in to moving down there so we could live together. Alas, he moved to Elko and settled down and got married and where resided for the last 20 something years. I, however, moved around with a couple dead-end jobs - short stop in Houston and then Chicago. He came to visit me in Chicago for a couple weeks during the summer and we would walk to Wrigley Field to watch our beloved Cubs, take the El downtown and go through all the musuems and then pub crawl during the evening. My job was pretty dead and I was stressed and couldn't sleep at night or stay awake during the day. Before he left he said, "do you want to continue living this way? If not, do something about; I will help. That's what brother's do." I packed up my stuff and moved back to Wyoming where I eventually matriculated to law school. After law school I got what at the time I thought was my dream job. I got laid off during the economic crash in 2009. He never waivered with his support and would say that things would get better. Sure enough I got another great job which I continue to work today.
Later I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl; but the last two years have been stressful and trying for me and my family because of a messy civil custody issue. Anyone who's been through that knows what I'm talking about. All through it he was a rock by my side. Last Fall I had my daughter and decided to go to Laramie for the football game. He surprised me by drivng all day Friday from Elko to get to Laramie to spend time with his family. That next day I don't think he ever put his niece down and held her all through the game. That was the Florida Atlantic game and the miracle win. His last text message to me was during the Fresno State basketball game saying that Trey can't spend 4 seconds dribbling the ball between his legs; Pass or drive the lane.
I last talked to him Thursday evening, It was an innocuous conversation. Just idle chatter. But sitting here this morning I wonder if deep down he knew he wouldn't be around much longer. The increase in the frequency of phone calls, more "I love you" at the end of calls. the constant cold he couldn't get over, the irregular sleeping pattern that he was going through, last weekend the inability to figure out how to accept my Google Chat Hangout request because he wanted to see his niece on a bigger format than FaceTime. Now the next time I check my email I will see his waiting to accept invitation notification that he will never be able to accept. My heart is broken and torn asunder.
You look at all the death and despair on the TV or internet or radio and because it is not tangential to you it is so easy to turn the channel or page or click on another website. But in general people are good and have good hearts so we say, 'That is terrible; my heart goes out to the person or family." However, when it personally strikes you it comes over you like a suffacting wave that paralyzes the body and numbs the mind.
But the sun came up today and a small, tiny piece of my heart was put back together. My beautiful daughter is eating breakfast and laughing and giggling. The joy of youth. I suppose there are two paths one can travel on now. One full of sorrow and misery and what ifs and why me's and dwell on what could of been or what was supposed to be. Or the other path that looks back in fondness of all the great memories that we had and focus on the positives and count our blessings that we at least had 48 great years of his presence. I love you Bryan Belcher. Rest in peace. Forever my brother; always a Cowboy, 11-6-67-1-29-16.
...he was my best friend. He never posted much on this website; his handle was SlowElko (which I gave to him but I think he never really liked it) but he would read it every day. He was a kind and generous man. Sometimes gruff and hard on his friends but only because he wanted the best for them. He would do anything for his friends and family. He loved the UW Cowboys, the Cubs, the Broncos, and play golf - he enjoyed watching all sports. But above all else he loved his family and friends most of all. He was always there for me and everything you could want in a big brother. We shared a lot of good times together...driving down from Rock Springs to Provo for the WAC Tournament and throwing our soda's in the air after Leckner hit that shot; getting into the car at the last minute to drive to Salt Lake to watch the Pokes in the NCAA Tourament; going to home games, away games...football, basketball it didn't matter; sitting in the stands and Cowboy Field and watching a baseball game in the sun. I will never forget our week in Vegas last year and our MW Tournament win. He was proud of Nance and what he made himself into as a NBA player but he was also astutute enough to know how vitale role players are. I think he was more proud of Derek Cooke.
We always laughed and lamented that despite how close we were that after college we never lived closer than 400 miles from each other. Life gets in the way when you're young and there is a natural selfish streak in a person that wants to strike out on there own. After college I took a job in Atlanta while he was in his second year as an elementary school teacher in Rock Springs. He can to visit me often in Atlanta and I tried to talk him in to moving down there so we could live together. Alas, he moved to Elko and settled down and got married and where resided for the last 20 something years. I, however, moved around with a couple dead-end jobs - short stop in Houston and then Chicago. He came to visit me in Chicago for a couple weeks during the summer and we would walk to Wrigley Field to watch our beloved Cubs, take the El downtown and go through all the musuems and then pub crawl during the evening. My job was pretty dead and I was stressed and couldn't sleep at night or stay awake during the day. Before he left he said, "do you want to continue living this way? If not, do something about; I will help. That's what brother's do." I packed up my stuff and moved back to Wyoming where I eventually matriculated to law school. After law school I got what at the time I thought was my dream job. I got laid off during the economic crash in 2009. He never waivered with his support and would say that things would get better. Sure enough I got another great job which I continue to work today.
Later I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl; but the last two years have been stressful and trying for me and my family because of a messy civil custody issue. Anyone who's been through that knows what I'm talking about. All through it he was a rock by my side. Last Fall I had my daughter and decided to go to Laramie for the football game. He surprised me by drivng all day Friday from Elko to get to Laramie to spend time with his family. That next day I don't think he ever put his niece down and held her all through the game. That was the Florida Atlantic game and the miracle win. His last text message to me was during the Fresno State basketball game saying that Trey can't spend 4 seconds dribbling the ball between his legs; Pass or drive the lane.
I last talked to him Thursday evening, It was an innocuous conversation. Just idle chatter. But sitting here this morning I wonder if deep down he knew he wouldn't be around much longer. The increase in the frequency of phone calls, more "I love you" at the end of calls. the constant cold he couldn't get over, the irregular sleeping pattern that he was going through, last weekend the inability to figure out how to accept my Google Chat Hangout request because he wanted to see his niece on a bigger format than FaceTime. Now the next time I check my email I will see his waiting to accept invitation notification that he will never be able to accept. My heart is broken and torn asunder.
You look at all the death and despair on the TV or internet or radio and because it is not tangential to you it is so easy to turn the channel or page or click on another website. But in general people are good and have good hearts so we say, 'That is terrible; my heart goes out to the person or family." However, when it personally strikes you it comes over you like a suffacting wave that paralyzes the body and numbs the mind.
But the sun came up today and a small, tiny piece of my heart was put back together. My beautiful daughter is eating breakfast and laughing and giggling. The joy of youth. I suppose there are two paths one can travel on now. One full of sorrow and misery and what ifs and why me's and dwell on what could of been or what was supposed to be. Or the other path that looks back in fondness of all the great memories that we had and focus on the positives and count our blessings that we at least had 48 great years of his presence. I love you Bryan Belcher. Rest in peace. Forever my brother; always a Cowboy, 11-6-67-1-29-16.
