The day you arrived on this earth you stole the spot light from under me and became the spotlight in so many lives.  You and I were always fighting for that spotlight and competing for everything life has to offer from our parent’s attention to getting a track record in high school.  Everything I ever did from triathlons to marathons you always had to do and of course not only out do me but out do everyone to become the ultimate spotlight.

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Being only 18 months younger than me I had to drag you around everywhere I went and I was not allowed to go if you and Scott didn’t come with me. You used to physically torture us. For example, one time you were in such a puberty frenzy that I had to get all my sisters out of the house to sit on the curb in the rain while you stood out at the front door with at bat until our mother came home.  You were also the one that stole all the fruit roll ups and made Rachel and I take the blame and get grounded for it.  You finally admitted you did it the last time you were home.  We always were very physical with our brother and sister fights but when it came to Heather you always treated her like a princess and always listened to her when she yelled at you.  You were this short geeky kid that I could never get rid of and ruined my reputation at the time but eventually became my spotlight and the confidant of my life. 

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We started out in our parent’s studio apartment in Bronx.  We camped out in the Florida Keys for family vacations, sharing our own tent, and experiencing the long 24 to 30 hour road trips with stops at south of the border where mom and dad always lost one of us.  We spent our summers at Camp Pontelle and Lewis village, where mom gave us 10 of the same t-shirts for the whole summer and wrote numbers on them so people would know that we were wearing a different shirt each day.  It was at camp where we went to blueberry hill to pick berries and we ate them all on the walk home so there was none to make a pie.  We also learned to sail, fish, swim, and took canoe trips down the Delaware River. 

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When we were older we worked at the Renaissance fair with the mice at our feet while we handed out food.  We also worked at the palisade parkway lakes as lifeguards where we saved lives and no one that came to your beach would ever do any wrong because you always intimidated them with your strong words and size.  These were all some of the places that taught us tolerance and coping techniques that eventually helped us to mold each other into these great successes.  You had said to me many times that no one would ever believe that we came from such humble beginnings and because we made it in life and had it all.

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At college when I visited you freshman year you grew about 6 inches and had a muscle explosion.  Eventually you became a man and my party partner. During the summers when our parents went on their annual visits to Maine we stayed behind planning the next party.  Our parents did not know of any of them until the one big one where the police came and then growing up in a small town of course everyone knew.  There were so many secrets that we shared and hid from our parents and these are secrets that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. 

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I will miss having someone that truly understood every step that I made in my life, even though it would not have been his choice.   This is because he was the only person from my family that truly knew and understood me without any question. I loved your random phone calls and visits with questions and advise you needed.  You did however listen but ran on with your free spirited ways.  I loved being the screening process for your thoughts, and girlfriends.

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I am so glad you had the opportunity to form relationships with George, your niece Jessica and nephew Michael.  Michael and I would sit in my office printing dozens of pictures that you sent us from Africa.  He would sleep with these pictures along with the wooden animals that you gave him.  When he plays with them he refers to the movie lion king.  Ironically this is the way we had to describe you death to him.  As Mustafa became a star in the sky that can always be looked upon for courage, inspiration and guidance.  Michael now views you as a star in the sky that will always be with him for the rest of his and Jessica’s life.  In his room he will always have the wonderful family photos you took of us on his wall and he will wear his fez hat and army hat when he plays dress up.  I just want you to know that he also plays army men and cowboys and Indians for hours, just as you did by locking yourself in your room and building forts with the blocks.

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Today I wear an 8 dollar Target shirt to represent your love for shopping at Target.  You always had a knack for looking good in a cheap way.

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I love you and you will always be there with me for the rest of my life.