Forever I'll find you, forever we'll be Forever your power and strength stays with me

Happy Monday internet.  Busy weekend but one of the best I've had in a very long time.  My brother Bryan turned 30 last week (crazy right!  we're all getting old.)  My cousin Michelle's birthday is tomorrow so we had a combined party for them this past Saturday and had a bunch of friends and family over and tons of good food.  Bryan had an awesome Scooby Doo cake with chocolate and peanut butter (his favorite!).  He got some awesome dvds, some video games, and some sweet old license plates that our uncle found while he was going through an old attic.  Bryan loves license plates and has several decorating his bedroom walls.  Bocce was played, zombies were shot down on the Wii, and kareoke was sung!  Very fun afternoon at the family homestead.

The Birthday Boy and Girl

                                                                  Bryan, Finn, and Me

Enjoying the Weather!

Sunday was the Shamrock and Roll festival in Philly at the world famous Electric Factory.  Three of my alltime favorite bands were playing under one roof; The Dropkick Murphys, which is the band I've seen live more than any other with a grand total of 23 shows.  The Street Dogs, the awesome new band of former Dropkick Murphys front man Mike McColgan, and also has the distinction of being the band that I broke my ankle to last year at their show.  And finally Stiff Little Fingers my favorite old school Punk Rockers from Belfast. 

 It was amazing, Street Dogs had a great set and I had an awesome vantage point from the balcony (no pit for me this time).  Stiff Little Fingers were amazing as usual, until this tour they haven't been to the States in six years.  It was great seeing a whole new generation of concert goers discovering such a classic band, much the same way I did 8 years ago. 

In between SLF and Dropkick I went outside as they were closing up the outside venue and I noticed Street Dog front man Mike McColgan hanging out so I introduced myself and told him about my mishap last year.  He couldn't have been nicer getting a picture with me and even inviting me backstage to watch the Dropkick Murphy set from the sidelines.  It was incredible seeing the concert from a new vantage point.  Seeing all the fans going crazy from the point of view of the band.  Watching all the action that goes down switching instruments and having special guest musicians for certian songs. 

Haha I don't know how I'm ever going to outdo that show!

Mike McColgan and me

Awesome

Our Brave New World....

Well I guess I'll kickstart this off by making my first official post about a subject that is very dear to me.  My older brother Bryan was born with Down Syndrome.  Trisomy 21 is something that he has but it is definately not WHO he is.  Growing up my brother was my room mate and along with my oldest brother Jason, my earliest playmate.  While Jason was always the ring leader and brains behind all of our games, he was a stickler for the rules and liked to keep it clean, not so much with my brother Bryan.  He was the one I could cause mischief with.  Making mud pies in the back yard or making it snow in the living room using a box of pancake mix, we had our fair share of trouble making.  I remember all the stares and the muttered comments when we were out.  I remember why we stopped attending church when they refused to teach him.  I remember the altercations with other kids who just didn't understand.  I remember at times feeling embarassed by him when I had friends over and the horrible guilt I felt for feeling that way.
I helped coach his Challenger Baseball league and participated in the theater group he was a part of ever since I was in kindergarten.  He is one of the most important people in the world to me and I can not imagine my life without his influence.....

Which brings me to a topic which made me want to start this blog in the first place.  Last week I was going through some other blogs about Down Syndrome and the Word to end the Word campaign when I came across a very upsetting statistic.  I read that of the expectant mothers that discovered they were having a Down Syndrome baby, 90% decided to have it aborted.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  30 years ago many believed that Down Syndrome children could not have a fulfilling life.  Most were put into group homes or institutions thinking that they would never learn to read, write, or function in day to day life.  One of the first words the doctor said to my mother after Bryan was born was that "You don't need to keep it".  But today those myths are completely dispelled.  Down Syndrome children attend the same schools as mainstreamed students, they read, they write, they act, they play sports, they sing, they dance, they laugh, they love.  I read that the reason Mother's have aborted their DS babies is because they think they can not have as good  a quality of life than other children.  From my experience with my brother and all the wonderful people I've volunteered with these past 20 years I can attest that it is just not true.  Not only does Bryan have an awesome life that he takes such absolute joy in, but he has without a doubt made my own life so much brighter. 

I equate this disturbing trend to the outdated Eugenics movement and shudder to think that if given the choice the world would rather not have people like my brother in it.  It makes me very sad for this world and I just wish there was a way I could show people how wrong they are...