Conversation

We hear it every day how “social” media is destroying the art of conversation. I don’t think there is any denying this trend and each of us experiences the shallowness of a tweet, a bullet thought, routinely. Humanity and the human experience is rich with wonder and adventure. To limit discussion thereof to just a few words is a disservice to our lives.

Brian understood the value of our stories and was always genuinely interested in them. It was one of his great frustrations, engaging with someone new who wasn’t interested in anything but the silliness of daily life. Talk of TV, sports, weather or some other seemingly “critical” topic which in the long run had only fleeting interest let alone human value. His desire was to learn about you and what shaped your history. He was a big fan of biographies and documentaries. He liked the show Vice and thought that it offered a balanced view of hard human problems.

I always enjoyed conversing with Brian or watching Brian engage in conversation. He had a real knack of getting you to engage about almost anything. The thing he did so well is he would start by asking you questions. Not for the sake of just making conversation but, because he was sincerely interested in you and your story; what shaped you and what helped define you. Then he would want to know your view on hard topics and how you would fix them. It was amazing how much he retained an how he quickly understood another’s character. Please don’t misunderstand me Brian wasn’t a drag on a party, he knew how to joke and be light in fact often, it didn’t take much time at all for Brian to be the life of the party. In the end though he wanted to know about you.

Brian had a story and it was a good one. He often wanted to share it but found it hard to find someone who was honestly interested. Brian was born in Italy and lived all over the world, Baharain, Japan, Korea, and Germany. His education exposed him to so many different cultures and international perspectives yet there was no doubt he was American. This confluence of world views created a rich personality. He wanted to know about people. I often wish that more people had wanted to know about my Brian. All who took the time were rewarded with stories and insights uncommon for a man as young as Brian. All who took the time to listen found a man rich with stories and a heart open to all without judgement. He was a beautiful man and deserved better than what he got here on earth.