My Friend: Bryant

It is rare for a me to befriend someone that grows so close to me that I can forget he is not a brother. Bryant Yates D. is that kind of guy in my life. I came to Wilmington 14 years ago and made only three long time, close friends. One is my roommate, the other died of heart failure just last month, and then there is 'B-Rye' as we affectionately call him.

I once had a teacher that told me there was two ways of remembering something: retain it in your mind or know where to retrieve the information. I have a third way of remembering things; I ask Bryant.

Bryant has this knack of remembering the mundane or easily forgettable. This is good for me because I suffer from 'CRS'(can't remember shit!).

I was once asked, "What date did you start driving cab in Wilmington?" I gave my answer and Bryant softly informed me that I had the date, and month wrong. I turned to him and said,"Alright smart ass, how much did I book on that first night?" I had him here I figured, because the only way he could have known this was to remember me telling him, in passing years earlier, how much I made that night.

Bryant promptly quoted the exact amount, to the penny how much I made. This dropped my jaw in my lap! From that day on I knew I could ask him anything like that and he'd rattle off the correct answer.

He is very learned in many subjects, from NASCAR and Wrestling, to complex dates & times and any location of any business or neighborhood in Wilmington.

(The downside of this excellent memory is that he remembers the stuff most people forget automatically like old, changed phone numbers or stuff said that you don't want to remember( like how drunk you got on one of your birthdays years ago).

He is quick to go out of his way to help, listen to, or carry your load for you. There has been many times over the last ten years that if it hadn't been for Bryant talking sense to me that I may have said something stupid or have been arrested(domestic problems) or worse.

It is especially rare for me to say I love someone outside of my family, but I love Bryant like I'd love a Siamese twin; now that he is stuck to me I wouldn't have it any other way.
By the way, Bryant's wife Shawna loves me as well, she calls me her 'Big Bubba'. How cool is that? I love her,too.