A Eulogy for My Brother
If you know me well, then you know that my writing is much better than my public speaking, so of course, I wrote this eulogy before coming up to speak to y’all today. I wanted to do TJ’s eulogy because I thought…if anyone was going to have the last words about my brother in a public space, it was going to be someone who knew him for who he was and for who he could be, and loved him even when those two perceptions didn’t always match up.
I thought about what my brother would want me to say about him and I know he wouldn’t want me to tell a story about him, but to tell HIS story. He’d want me to be honest and fair, not fake or phony. He’d want me to talk a bit about the people who loved him and whom he loved. Because when TJ loved you, you were a part of his life until y’all both said otherwise.
So naturally, TJ’s story starts with me. I was an only child for seven glorious years. Just me and my mom, Dede, chillin. Then, Tinnea came and it was cool because now I had a little sister. She was like another one of my little cabbage patch dolls with plump cheeks. I loved it. It was all girl grandchildren in the family for a while: me, Konnie, Rhia, and Tinnea. We were living our best life until my granny had to go say a prayer for boys and all of a sudden, there was Cheikh, Trey, and right before Zane, my mom had TJ.
