BROTHER

We were just kids when we became friends
Kids
I'd ride my bike over to his house
It was a serious journey
But when I got there Betty Sue had some sweet snacks
Eric would fire up the TRS-80
and we'd play video games
or Dungeons and Dragons with Scott and Russ
or other days we'd play football on the lawn at the Lynnwood Library
Other nights we'd watch Stripes or The Thing
I think those were the only movies we had on VHS

He became my brother
Like no other
We talked on the phone
The kind with the spiral cord
for hours
often

We were playing basketball
At night once
and these chunks of rock
Start flying onto the court
So Eric, Mark Rodriguez and I wander into the blackberry bushes
and find
a full on Ninja
Decked out head to toe
He whips out his nun-chucks and displays his talent
It scared the shit out of me
Eric says, "Yeah, you better know how to use them. Cause when I take them away from you you're going to pay."
The Ninja ran away

There was one time I tried to buy beer at this store we knew was shady
I was 18
I failed
The proprietor laughed
I came back empty handed
Eric, 16 went into the store and came back arms full

I was at a "young life" (Christian camp) party eating ice cream out of a Styrofoam cup
When he and some other friends came bursting around the corner with water balloons
I turned and ran and threw my ice cream cup over my shoulder
It full on hit him in the chest
Ice cream bomb
He launched his water bomb
It hit me
Square
and bounced off
I laughed and ran
He tackled me
Broke my collar bone
Maybe the most painful thing I've ever felt
I let out a series of expletives never heard at a Young Life event before or after

We went to college together
After I finished community college we both entered UW
Threw some of the most epic dorm parties
That's not hyperbole
We had a sweet sound system
REM
"It's the end of the world"
The Soundtrack to Platoon
Prince
Erasure
The RA would come by with a look on his face like, "Are you kidding me?"
"Respect." I'd put on

We started a fraternity
I had to recruit him though
He wasn't keen on the idea at first
We became brothers for a second time

There was this one time when this sorority was complaining about the tree in front of their house
So we
REDACTED

The Betas had this couch outside on a bulkhead above the sidewalk
They would insult people walking by
Flick bottle caps at people
Cat call girls
So one night we
REDACTED

He taught me how to play football
Aggressively
That's how you win
We won the Greek championship
With just a handful of guys

One time we got into a bar fight
when the guys from Chicago failed
to live up to their pool bet to shout "Scottie Pippen sucks..."
REDACTED

Another time he asked me to sing
"Danny Boy" at an Irish bar in Seattle when the singer vacated the stage
"Alright," I said
I got on stage
The mic was still hot
I started to sing
They cut off the mic
I kept singing cause I'm Greg Stone and I don't need a mic
The bouncer came over
I stopped
Thought about finishing
But are you going to fight over singing Danny Boy?
Nah

I went off to work on tour
for years
Moved to New York
for years
We'd see each other rarely
Us brothers
But it's always the same when we do
Every time
Just
With less Ninjas and REDACTED moments