Tuesday, March 12, 2013

A True Underdog Story - My Cousin Bryan

Writing about cancer all the time is really awful.  It takes a huge toll on the writer.  Especially if that writer is no longer actively fighting cancer himself.  You have to dive back into the same mindset you had while you were patrolling the trenches of cancer, and constantly relive a lot of traumatic shit, on cue.  It sucks, every time.  But I'm not here to complain, I'm here to educate.  Which is why today, I bring you a true underdog story.

There are some who label cancer survivors "heroes," and if you read my last post, you already know how I feel about that.  I think the real heroes have qualities that are present whether cancer is or not.  And those people fight against inequality and injustice, regardless of their own lot in life.  And that brings me to today's topic:

My cousin Bryan, the underdog.

Bryan is, as we speak, embroiled in a vicious battle with his Home Owner's Association.  For the right to keep his recycle bin on the front porch.  You heard it here.  It's a struggle to survive in his own neighborhood.  This story has it all -- drama, action, romance (I don't know if any of those claims are true).  It's a coming of age tale of one recycle bin who refused to be relocated, and the owners who loved him.

You can read the full story, complete with the back and forth with Bryan's HOA, here:  http://thebryguy115.wordpress.com/

Bryan is spectacularly witty and tells wildly entertaining stories.  I know this, because I had to see him on Thanksgiving every year of my whole life.  And this one's no different.  He takes a dull, innocuous topic and turns it into a tongue-in-cheek adventure.

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