Tuesday, November 9, 2010
From the family of Johnathan Brown. It's difficult to know how to start talking about Johnathan and the life that he choose to live. The difficulty we have is where to begin. Do we begin by pointing out that he was the last child in a family of four? Do we begin by saying he was the best friend and the cherished son of a devoted father? Do we say that he was equally devoted, choosing to stay and help care of dad rather then leave the province for work. Do we say that he was the family glue that we all clung to, that we all adored… and yes we all babied? But we are guessing, all of you sitting here today probably know all of that. Maybe we should start talking about Johnathan by sharing with you some of the things that he loved. He loved the colours red and black. Every activity that involved Johnathan, had to include the colours red and black. His motorbike pants, shirt, protective gear were red and black. His guitars, that he playing at all hours day & night at differing levels but somehow always loud, were red or black. His paintball gear, all of his online gaming characters, and his everyday clothing were red and black. In fact Johnathan was rarely ever seen without wearing these two colours. It didn't matter that he had 2 closets full of cloths made up of other colours. It didn't matter that it looked like he was was wearing the same cloths everyday, and, as we jokingly said to him, people are going to start thinking your poor. It just didn't matter. He loved red and black and so he stuck to them. Johnathan, or Johnnie B. as his eldest sister would often call him, loved Metallica. And we do mean loved! He listened to every cd and watched every recorded concert and every filmed documentary ever made about or by Metallica. What should I get Johnathan for his birthday… answer, a Metallica t-shirt and well aren't we lucky… its red and black. What do you want for Christmas Johnnie? In quick reply, 'Well there's a new documentary about the making of their last album… get that.' In fact, it was this love for this band that turned Johnathan into the accomplished guitarist that he became. Johnnie had fast hands and a great ear and he was good. He loved the difficult songs, the more complex the better. He would work at it for endless hours, but Johnathan would never have called it 'work' or 'practice' he would have just called it the greatest music ever written. Of course, Metallica influenced him in another way. Many of you might not be aware, but Johnathan also wrote poetry. All throughout his home, under his bed, crammed between living room sofa cushions, and scattered among the dirty dishes on his floor (Sigh) you can find on scraps of paper 4 or 5 lines of Johnnie's words, his inner thoughts. Johnathan was a deep thinker, which may be a little surprising based on how laid back and casual he appeared. But he thought about things and what they could mean. If you were lucky, sometimes late at night, if out of sight you quietly sat down next to his open door, and it was always open so he could look directly into his fathers room, you would be blessed with hearing Johnathan discuss with his friends online, around the world, the meaning of Metallica lyrics. These were not casual discussions. Johnathan discussed Metallica lyrics like an academic discussing a Shakespearian play. It was intense, it was deep, and it was loved. On a lighter note, Johnathan, of course, also loved… ice cream. On Wednesday evening, during his visitation, 2 stories came to light which will demonstrate his love for this frosty treat. The first involved his best friend Matthew Peddle. As teenagers Matthew was a regular visitor to our home. He and Johnathan would stay up for hours, and by hours we mean days, playing video games. One such night, after consuming 2 large overflowing bowls of vanilla ice cream Matthew asked 'where are you putting it all Johnathan?' and his only reply was 'Um-m-m-m…. I love ice cream' as he tucked in his third bowl. This love took on a whole new level however when we were told about Johnathan's payment plan. Last year, for a few days, Johnathan did some work with a friend of David's, Chris Rose. Together, they delivered Central Dairies products to stores along the shore. When asked how he would like to get paid, Johnathan replied "In ice cream if you don't mind." And he was. So here we are and the difficulty now is how to end. There is so much more to say, but it seems not enough time to say it all. Johnathan was his own man. No matter how you pleaded or bagged, cried or yelled; he did things in his own time, 'yah in a minute' as he would always say, and in his own way. He took people as they were. He didn't try to change you, when you were a friend Johnathan took you as you were. Finally it needs to said that Johnathan was the best of us. He was the smartest of us and he was the most talented of us. He was simply the best. And he was loved. And he will be deeply missed. Forever.
