Memorial service for Brandi in Seattle

I met Brandi in the fall of 1988. I had accepted a volleyball scholarship to the University of Idaho and had moved from the Seattle area to live in the cold, concrete dorms of Moscow, away from family and friends for the first time in my life. It was U2 that brought us together. I had "Boy" cranked on my stereo and Brandi, shocked that there was another person in Idaho who was actually familiar with U2's first album, poked her head into my room to see who this freaky person was. From there, we became fast friends. We spent many hours hanging out at her dad's house in Moscow, listening to music, drinking (Brandi's drink of choice then was Bacardi) and just being young and stupid (except Brandi still managed to get decent grades...go figure). After one frozen winter, I hightailed it out of Idaho, back to Seattle, with Brandi in tow. Seattle became her home base from then on. Over the years, our lives took us on different paths, but we never lost touch. No matter how much we changed or how far apart we were, we could always pick back up from where we left off when she'd find her way back to Seattle. She was like a sister to me in many ways.

We are planning a memorial service for Brandi in Seattle on Sunday, Dec. 28th at 2:00 at the Graham Visitor's Center in the Seattle Arboretum (2300 Arboretum Drive E Seattle, WA 98112). Please see http://depts.washington.edu/wpa/directions.htm#I5 for directions. We have the space reserved until 5:00 for people to spend time reflecting and celebrating Brandi's life. Afterward, anyone who is interested can join us for food and drinks at The Wild Rose on Capitol Hill, one of Brandi's regular hangouts. I look forward to seeing and meeting many of you there.