This photo is my special keepsake because it is the last memory I have of my best friend, Brad, before he was sent to the war in Iraq. Brad and I have been very good friends for the past ten years. Our friendship has lasted so long because of his dedication and communication skills. If he wasn't so diligent about keeping in touch while over seas, I don't know if we would still be as close. He was the first person I met when moved to Satellite Beach and the last person I saw before I moved to Jacksonville. .
June 16, 1993, I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was the day I moved to Satellite Beach and the day I met Brad Faulkner. From my kitchen window, I could see out to the golf course and I could see a little boy fishing in the lake. I didn't know any kids, so I went out to meet him. The boy's name was Brad and since there weren't many children in the neighborhood, we became very close friends. At the time I was eight, and Brad was ten. .
When I was younger, I was I was quite the "tomboy." Whenever he would go fishing, I would always tag along. Then around fifth grade I discovered that boys had cooties! I wanted nothing to do with Brad or any other boys. We lost touch for a few years. During Junior High Brad attended private school and I public school. We would see each other ever now and then, but not exchange much more than a "Hello.".
When I got to High School, Brad had grown up! He wasn't the same boy next door that I used to run around and play tag with. Brad was a junior with a car, and I was a lost little freshman. My friends thought I was so cool because I had an upperclassman acknowledging my presence! Throughout my freshman year Brad and I began to hang out again. He would give me rides to school and take me out on weekends. .
As the end of his senior year drew near it was time for him to make some very important decisions regarding the future. Very confused about which college to choose and where he wanted to spend the next four years of his life, he ran into a Marine recruitment officer.