Ross and me from  long ago...

I received a letter this week from my brother Ross, my older brother Ross, who is a bit of a Luddite and I mean that in the best sense of the word. He just has no use for things of the 21st-century. So I was a bit perplexed when I got this letter, Rosset even sent a birthday card earlier this month and knowing are hard it is for me to send a birthday greeting I know it was majorly more difficult for Ross but he didn't I got my birthday card on time with money inside. I opened the letter with some trepidation not knowing what the inside – – I could tell there was hardly anything inside just one paper folded three times. The paper was a computer printout of the screenshot of the screen of an article published by KTVB Channel 7 the BoiseNBC affiliate. The screenshot showed an image of a grizzly old guy named Bruce( last name is not important) what was important was this guy named Bruce had been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife and what's important to me was/is I know this guy or should I say I knew this guy in a time. At this point in my life – brand-new 62 – I didn't think anything surprises me anymore, is been a long time some something took my breath away. This article did just that.

I can safely say I have not been in communication with Bruce for 40 some years, not since grade school art maybe junior high. Growing up with Bruce we' had been in many of the same grade school classes. Bruce had a set of twins for older brothers. These guys were great they were minor sports stars for the local high school and I know a couple of years they were a little league baseball coaches. They were tough to there for Bruce was tough. Bruce was someone I'd never want to fight and I never had to thank goodness, I'm sure Bruce would cleaned my clock. Bruce was part of my universe growing up, he was not a close article in my nuclear existence that he was there. I lost contact with them after junior high and my accident. With the advent of Facebook, and the Internet, averaged out and try to find him a couple times but to no avail. I'd heard rumors that Bruce had enlisted during the Vietnam War and even served in special forces which did not surprise me at all. But every search I did for Bruce dead-ended. I figured he was gone one way or the other.

So, I was blown away, when I received the mail from my brother Ross. I of course immediately went to the website identified on the screenshot and read what I could. Bruce lived in the old neighborhood not far from the house he was raised in. So, he'd been around, he had a life it seems a quiet life until one day something exploded and he did the unthinkable. Since I got the letter from my brother I have been trying to wrap my brain around what happened in Boise a couple weeks ago. I haven't talked to any of the people I know who knew him yet. I don't know how to do that just seems rude to talk about Bruce behind his back that way yet I need to know what some of these folks think. Eddie, John, Tom, Rosemary and a host of others who knew Bruce. I almost want to write Bruce a letter delivered know I support them – – but do I? I don't know him obviously not this Bruce that the Bruce of the five o'clock news. What would I say to him if I did make contact? It's obvious he killed the person in question, it's obvious he's going up the river if not worse – – Idaho still maintains capital punishment. Do I just turned my back on this person of my childhood and walk away? I feel like a jerk doing something like that. I guess that's what I want to know: for the other folks dealing with this? We have to deal with it he's part of our past – – and maybe in some way part of our future… I just want to know.