Hi, my name is Greg. I hope you like my web page. This site is best viewed in internet explorer, some AOL users may have problems viewing some pages. You can navigate through the site using the bar at the bottom of the page. If you have an mp3 or rom request please email me and I'll see what I can do. Please support my site by clicking my banners at the top of all my pages and try using my Google search bars to search for anything and everything on the internet, I get paid every time someone clicks on the banners and uses my search bars, it isn't much, but it helps out a little bit. If your feeling generous, you could make a donation, see below ;o)...If you have some time, check out my stuff page, there may be something there to interest you...thanks!!! I am trying to get enough cash together to get a dedicated server so I can host more games and music on my site, your support will make it happen. If you know of any good free file storage web sites you can send me an email at gr42178@aol.com
Brandon was born on december 15th, 1983. He was diagnosed with leukemia. He underwent treatment and went into remission for a while, but it came back on him. He fought it for a long time, but on october 17, 2000 at the age of 16, he lost the battle. I am going to put up pictures, poems and stories about him and his life. Please check back often as I will be updating it frequently. If you have any suggestions or anything you want to add to the site please email me below.
A fellow aviator and author, Ernest Gann, wrote this following verse to a young airline pilot friend of his who was dying from cancer.
You are standing upon a shore...somewhere. Aship before you spreads her white sails and starts for the blue ocean. She is a beautiful and strong ship and you watch her until she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.
Then someone says, "There...well, well. She's gone."
Gone where? From your sight-that's all. She is just as large in mast and spar as when she left your shore, just as strong and able. Her diminished size is in you, not in her, and while someone at your side is saying, "She's gone..." there are other eyes watching her coming and ready to take up the glad shout, "There she comes."
Christina Turner
Journalism
Personal Essay
November 14, 2000
A Special Friendship
"The Lone Ranger and Tonto,
Laurel and Hardy.
Batman and Robin,
It wasSnoopy and Charlie.
Friends to the thick and thin,
friends to the very end.
I think you would agree,
tha’s how it is for you and me
I..I..I..want you to know
I need you.
I..I..I..want you to know
it’s true.
There’s no..no..no way
I’d make it without you.
It’s so good to know
thatI’ve got a friend like you."
~John DenverFriend Like You
All along the way through life there are friends that you acquire, some of them turn out to be regular acquaintances and some of them turn out to be people you picture in your life forever. They are the friends that leave a lasting impression on you for years to come. But sometimes life doesn’t always give you all the time in the world like you want. Every friend that I have ever made has left an impact on my life in some way, but only one has changed the way I view the world, only one has had such an enormous impact on my heart.
I met Brandon three years ago at a summer camp for kids with cancer. My parents made me attend Camp Can Do, in the hopes that I would meet some friends who could talk to me and understand my pain and fears. The only familiar face there was my Child Life Specialist, Janiece, other than that, I knew no one. Janiece took the time to introduce me to some of the kids my age, one of which was Brandon Kology. We clicked within an instant and realized we already had one very odd thing in common both of us were diagnosed with the same exact kind of cancer, Leukemia. That first summer Brandon and I learned a great deal about each other and as the week came to an end we promised to keep in touch.
Throughout the next year, Brandon and I wrote at least four times a month, called as often as we could, and e-mailed each other constantly. We shared out secrets, fears, heartaches, and new found interests with each other. The four-hour distance never really seemed to bother us and before I knew it, I found myself back at camp with Brandon and the rest of the campers.
That second year at camp, Brandon and I were inseparable. We ate every meal together, spent our free time with each other, hung out at Hershey Park, we even went to the camp dance together. Wherever you found one of us, you usually found the other and before we were even near ready, yet another week of Camp Can Do had come to an end. I remember as Brandon and I were saying good-bye, he handed me a note. At the very end of the note it read"I want you to know that if something happens and one of us is unable to make it back to camp next year that I will always remember you and it has been an awesome friendship love Rambo {a nickname I gave to him when we first met}." I remember laughing when I read that and telling him he was silly because we would both be back next year. He just hugged me and said he would call me when he got home. For some reason, I saved that note and now when I read it I am really glad that I did.
Brandon never made it back to camp. I believe that it was in March of 2000 when Brandon told me that he had relapsed {that means that the cancer was back}. For a long time I was really scared but Brandon reassured me that he was doing fine. In July I went to visit Brandon in the hospital. We had a really great visit, we joked around and had fun. But we also got serious, we talked about life and how it can be so unfair sometimes, we reminisced about our "camp day", and we talked about how unique and special our friendship was.
By the time that August rolled around and it was time for camp, Brandon had an infection and wasn’t able to make it. I video taped the whole week for him, made him stuff at Arts and Crafts, bought him stuff from Hershey Park, and I made sure to send him a post card a day.
On October 17, 2000 Brandon passed away. He was only 16, two months from his 17th birthday. I have never felt more alone or more scared in my life. For some reason, I thought that I would be invincible to the pain of loosing my best friend, especially to something that had once struck me. I really wanted to deny the fact that he wasn’t here on earth anymore.
In the three years that I knew Brandon, he taught me so much about life, maybe even more that people that I have known for 18 years. He taught me that I didn’t need to change myself to please other people, that as long as I believed in myself I could accomplish anything. Brandon showed me what a real friendship is all about and that you can’t run away when you’re scared. Brandon had a huge heart and a special touch that made anyone feel loved.
As unfair as life seems sometimes, I believe that God has a plan for everyone and that each person is put on this earth for a purpose. Maybe Brandon’s purpose was to touch someone’s life, to warm their heart, to show them what kind of person they can be if only they try. If that’s the case, then he succeeded because Brandon certainly touched my life. I thank God everyday for giving me the chance to know Brandon and to learn from him.
I know that when God extended his hand from heaven and gave Brandon his wings, Brandon could be proud of his life. I hope that he left us smiling and knowing that he did good and a lot of people love him and are proud of what he was and what he stood for. He’ll never be forgotten
"It takes a minute to have a crush on someone,
an hour to like someone,
a day to love someone,
but it takes a lifetime to forget someone."
~unknown
The child she bore, nurtured, watched grow up has been torn away from her. Her heart and soul are deeply troubled and she aches as she remembers his smile, his gestures, his procrastination and small rebellions. Gone forever unless they meet again in God’s kingdom. Will they meet again and will they recognize each other?
Gone .... how will she bear this hurt, how will she be able to put one foot before the other? How will she be able to dress, go to work and take care of her daughter and husband. Will she ever have that wonderful smile again and will she ever feel lighthearted again?
Gone .... and with his departure there is a bottomless pit that won’t be filled. Should she wall up this part of her life so that she won’t feel the pain. After reflection this is not an option because to shut out the pain also prevents the happy memories from surfacing. My hope is that in time the happy memories will bring many smiles and joy to this mother’s heart and that over time the loss whichwill never disappear will become less painful.
Gone is the pain that racked his body. If only the pain could have been removed and his life spared. Some say she should get to know God, but this isn’t as easy as it sounds. There are questions always about why the God who created the heavens and earth would let that child and others like him suffer and die. Many a mother will cry at night - why me, why my child. Where was God when I prayed for him to spare my child.
How not to think of him without agony and despair. She wants to remember him when he was well, attending school, playing with his friends. She wants to remember how it was before he was ravaged by cancer and taken away from her forever.
She remembers when there were just the three of them and how busy life was with working and taking care of all their needs. Then she met a wonderful man and there was joy and happiness and a new family unit.
My Prayer:
Lord, I know that it isn’t easy to understand why you would take Janet’s son at such a young age. It is hard not to feel anger that we prayed to you and he didn’t make it.
Accept my prayer that Janet will be given the strength to cope with life without her beloved Brandon and reach out with open arms to her daughter and husband so that they can share her pain and help her through the rough times.
Her world as she knew it is gone forever, but one thing I know she would trade all her worldly goods to have him in her arms once more.
"Wake Up and Stop Playing Around"
By Brandon Kology
(1983 - 2000)
"I think my diagnosis of cancer has told me to wake up and stop playing around. It
told me that anything can happen at any time. So do what you have to do, and do it even if you don’t like it. I also think the idea of a "better education will get you a better job." If you don’t do your best, you will end up on the streets."
These are the profound and courageous words of a wise young man named Brandon, who recognized and understood the importance of waking up to life and not playing around with its value. Brandon’s words reflect his value of life; it is a precious gift. What is more, he valued the ability to educate himself to further enhancethe quality of his life. As a result, Brandon fought, body, soul, and spirit for the 16 years that God Blessed him with his loving mother, father, sister, friends and loved ones who cared so very deeply for him. Brandon’s words are a testimony of life for everyone. Life is an irreplaceable gift of God, don’t waste yours!
In Loving Memory of Brandon Kology
Pam C. Fletcher, November 1, 2000
Away - For Brandon Kology
The way he left was so sad
He was the only one left
I felt that I had
He was too young to die
Now I sit here crying wondering why?
You knew me better than anyone
You always knew how to have so much fun
but now your so far
I thought that God would have realized how close we are
That he couldn't take you away from me
That you were the only one who ever made me see
What life was worth
You offered it all to me
With just a kiss and a smile
You made life all worth while
But he took you away
Then I couldn't see you...
Not even one more day
No more smile that was worth all the while
I would have never knew
That I would have to live life...
A life without you
I want you to be here
I know that's not possible
I wish I could hold you
I cant seem to get over it
Everything that was happening
Just kinda hit
I never thought
something like this could happen to me
Especially with you
Because we were meant to be
Will anyone love me the way you did?
I know that I will never feel this way for someone again
Maybe God will have realized then that he made a mistake
He took you away. he didn't know that you should stay
But now that your gone
Everyday for you I will pray
By: Laura Berry
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