I still remember  / Javier Chaverri (friend and Lawyer in Costa Rica )

When writing this it came to my mind how easy was to have fun with you Justin. When we went to the soccer game and you dissapear for a minute and we found you learning how to say some incorrect language with some local hoolligans at the stadium. It took only 3 beers to realize you were not only a client but a good friend!!!! talking about you with your father lately...wish you were here to laugh with.

Chhers from Costa Rica

Javier Chaverri 

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First Up  / Poppie (Father)
Pirate Eye, being the first-born was always first up (“Crash Test Dummy”) on any adventure.

Justin’s first bike was one of those heavy, cheap K-Mart, hard rubber tires, and red, with tassels bikes. Hard to ride since it was heavy and had hard rubber tires. Put it all together Christmas morning with training wheels. Put it out on the front porch for the first test ride. Justin was so excited, hopped on, started peddling as hard as he could but the training wheels were to high and he went no where. As it turned out you had to be Charles Atlas to peddle the heavy, hard tired bike. Lesson learned Brittany and Kimberly got nice bikes with air filled tires.

I got the bright idea to build homemade slide, with monkey bars, zip line and clubhouse.
The slide was tricky; I had friend in the metal working business and talked him into giving us three feet by 8 or 10 feet long piece of metal for the slide. And cut slots in 4x4 for the sides. But wasn’t sure what slope to make the slide, and then how flat to make the bottom of the slide. So we just did it at what looked like a good angle to get some good speed, this slide was not going to be for babies! We put the slide up, and recruited Pirate Eye, as test pilot for the first run down the slide. Well the slide was too steep and the bottom to flat, and Justin busted his butt on the bottom.

We had one of those kid’s wagons with the wood sides. The developers were making the ditch behind the house a lot deeper, and there was a little dirt rode that they had cut to the bottom. I thought it would be cool to have the kids ride the wagon down the hill. Justin was first up and last up. As wagons are very top heavy and steer from the front, the result was a Justin face plant in the dirt.

We built a tree house in our back yard. No railings. Saturday afternoon in the summer, I am laying on the couch and Justin comes in with big knot on his head, but didn’t remember how he got it, and was waking a little funny. Valerie comes home and says he will be ok. Turns out he had fallen out of the tree house and hit a limb on the way down. Justin ended up in the hospital that night.

We used to take vacations to Colorado. I thought it would be cool to taker our mountain bikes in the van and go up to the continental divide at the Cottonwood Pass and ride them down to Buena Vista. Not to bright as you can hit speeds of 50 miles per hour and there are switchbacks. In this case Justin and Brittany survived but little Kim broke her leg by Saint Elmos, on a flat part, as we were following in the van we almost ran over her. Cracked her helmet, picked her up and got her in the van, then noticed her ankle was at a unnatural angle to her leg. Doctor couldn’t understand how her leg got so mangled.
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Soy un gatitio for Betty Boop  / Susie Gerschutz (friend)

As a college friend of the family, I met Justin several years ago.  Once when I attended his Grandfather's funeral, he offered to ride with me to the house.  I was glad to have some company; however, I did neglect to ask him if he wanted to drive my son's car that I had that day- a nice Firebird.  He didn't say a word, but I wish I had made the offer.

 

Another time, on one of the sailing adventures, we were around some shops.  Maybe it was even a grocery store.  Anyway, he found a card he liked and didn't have any change with him so I said I'd get it for him.  It was Betty Boop.  I still have it and will have to give it to Bob and Val. 

 

One of the more memorable sailing circumstances occurred when I had had a rich dinner with alcohol on land the evening before and wasn't feeling the best.  That dinner never seemd to settle.  The next day, dinner was being served on the boat by dear Jim and my stomach flipped.  As a plate was set in front of me, I leaned over the side and heaved.  I felt instantly better and said,  " I think I'm hungry" - and Justin just looked at me and said,  "Impressive!".    He didn't care for the 'smaltzy' music I had brought along either, but he tolerated it. 

 

A wonderful, funny, caring, compassionate human being lost. 

We miss you Justin.

Love,

Susie Gerschutz

 

 

 

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Kabassa! / Capitan Bob (Father)
Pirate Eye
Tale No: 6
Race To The Border

The first sailboat Race To The Border was held in June 2003, and has been held every other year since. The race starts in Galveston and goes 240 miles south along the Texas Gulf Coast to Port Isabel (South Padre Island) on the Texas Mexico border.

The hearty crew included Justin (Pirate Eye), Andrew Jones, Jim Caveny, Glen Hushcroft, Keith Elder, Poppie, and Jozef Gluszyk (the Pole). Everyone brought food, cigars, wine, rum, and beer for the two-three day race.

Jozef being Polish brought Kabassa links purchased from the Polish grocery in Houston! According to Jozef, the Kabassa needed to cure in the wind and sun. As the sausages were all tied together we strung them on the mast pulpit to ripen, on the way down the ship channel to the race start off Galveston. Before the race started they were taken below and hung in the galley. All that Kabassa on the deck would create too much drag.

The wind was calm at the start of the race, and all that night and the next day. After two days the Kabassa was very ripe and stunk up the cabin. Jozef said that made it even better.

But as Jozef nodded off to sleep, Justin sacrificed the Kabassa to the Wind God. The Wind God was happy with the Kabassa and the wind picked up and we finished the race at 2 AM of the third day, and in first place.

Such is tale of Pirate Eye. I am sure Justin will be with us in the Race to The Border June 6, 1009.

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My brother my friend  / Kim Gallogly (Sister in Law )

Its crazy eight months later and its the first time Ive been home since Justin Died and all i can think about is that night. My heart ackes and the tears are flowing all i can remember is the last good conversation i had with my sister and she was sitting in front on my dresser just talking just hours prior to the accident and I think about it and everything comes back as painfullas the moment as we found out.

It is something I will never understand and is still as painfull as the day it happend but I guess the best thing is to remember Justin as the man he was. But I will always question why and still i find myself in disbelief but with love in my heart.

Justin was a brother to me a friend and really an inspiration.... at first i didnt understand him but as time came I loved him as my brother. But since he has left us life has been hard and Justin was always the one that would give it to me staright and I miss that so much. 21 :) But i know he is watching over me and my family and I just wish he was still here.

Justin Just always Know that my Family and I will always remember and love you! One day we will meet again my friend..... My Love

Princess Kim

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Pirate Eye, the early years  / Poppie Brindley (Mentor)

     Some of Justin’s college friends asked what he was like as a little man. We often hosted a full contact neighborhood volleyball game in our back yard at our first house, in Alief Texas. Yes, and if you are in Texas playing volleyball in the summer on a Saturday afternoon, you need to stay hydrated. And everyone knows beer is the best hydration product. As you cannot play full contact volleyball with a beer in your hand, everyone put their cans of beer around the court, but mostly around the poles.
     There were lots of 2-4 year olds running around the backyard as their mothers and fathers focused on playing full contact volleyball, and staying hydrated. As the afternoon wore Valerie noticed that Justin was running around in circles and falling down a lot more than normal.
     As it turns out Pirate Eye had developed a hankering for beer and sports at an early age and had been sampling the various beers, a practice he continued for the rest of his life.

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Viking Style!  / Sarah Klaustermeier (Leeds Classmate )
Justin, Amy and I had a great trip to Central America over the 2008 New Year.  The last night of the trip we were in Bocas Del Toro, Panama which is an island off the northeast corner of Panama in The Caribbean.  We went met some people that afternoon who told us about the 80's Hour of Power at a bar down the street.  We showed up without costumes but determined to complete the 1 oz. shot of beer each minute for an hour.  Everyone was decked out in ridiculous costumes and Justin was determined to out do everyone there.  He ran back to our hotel and shaved off part of his beard which he had proudly been growing for the last 3 weeks into a Fu Manchu mustache.  Throughout the hour of power he proceeded to tear off the sleeves to his shirt, wear them as a headband, do karate chop moves for each shot of beer and befriend a few Swedish people.  He kept screaming that he was getting Viking Style drunk and then karate chopped his way around the bar.  He was definitely the center of attention and had everyone in hysterics.  It's memories of this classic Justin behavior that make me smile everytime I think of him.  I miss you Justin! Close

Justin P. Brindley Mountain Bike Trail  / Poppie Brindley (Father)

www.sugarlandtx.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Doug Adolph
January 26, 2009 281-275-2724


Mountain Bike Trail Donation Honors Avid Outdoorsman

Sugar Land, TX – A mountain bike trail planned at Sugar Land Memorial Park will honor Justin Petersen Brindley, a local outdoor enthusiast who died last year while rafting on the Colorado River.
City Council approved on Jan. 20 a $55,000 donation from Brindley’s parents for the construction of a two-mile mountain bike trail south of University Boulevard and Commonwealth Boulevard near the Brazos River, where the Clements High School graduate spent much of his early life riding bikes and enjoying the outdoors.
According to family members, Brindley’s “keen interest in the outdoors started early with much time spent biking and fishing along Ditch H and the Brazos River” near the location of the future trail that will bear his name. He became an avid sportsman and outdoorsman, regularly traveling to Moab, Utah; Colorado; and northern California for mountain bike excursions.
In addition to biking, Brindley spent his time surfing, wind surfing, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, camping, hiking, fly fishing and rafting.
Just 30 years old at the time of his death, he had already lived a lifetime of adventure.
At the age of five, he scaled Guadalupe Peak, the highest summit in Texas. More recently, he reached the peak of several mountains in Colorado, climbing over 14,000 feet. He was a competitive sailor who raced in numerous offshore events—usually placing and often winning first—including Harvest Moon Regattas to Port Aransas, two to Vera Cruz, Mexico, and one to Biloxi, Mississippi. During Tropical Depression Allison, he steered his boat through a dense pack of oil production rigs off the Louisiana coast in driving horizontal rain at night.
Brindley’s travels included China, Russia, Poland, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Columbia, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, England, India and Bangladesh.
“Justin embraced life with a passion, was a ‘people’ person who never met a stranger, made friends wherever he went, found good in everyone and lived by the philosophy adopted from a Ralph Waldo Emerson saying, ‘Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail,’” said his father, Robert.
Construction of Justin P. Brindley Trail will provide for the first mountain bike trail in the City. The two-mile, single track trail is designed for beginner and intermediate cyclists but will have several technical offshoots for more experienced riders.
The trail is identified as a recreational element in the Sugar Land Memorial Park Master Plan and will complement the new pavilion, restroom facilities, play fields and dog park that are currently scheduled for the park’s next phase of development this spring.
Completion of Justin P. Brindley Trail is expected by September.

Photo Captions: 1) Justin P. Brindley regularly travelled to Moab, Utah. 2) Justin P. Brindley, center, with friends in Moab, Utah.

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I Am A Small Cat  / Poppie Brindley (Father)
Justin Brindley

I Am A Small Cat

Watashi wa chiisana neko desu                      Japanese
Pom pen louk maew                                        Thai
Soy un gatito                                                   Spanish
Jestem kotkiem                                                Polish
Kis macska vagyok                                           Hungarian
Ich bin eine kleine katzchen                            German
Ya yest malenka koshka                                  Russian
I am small cat eh                                             Canadian
My choti billi hoo                                              Hindi 
                                          Chinese:
Wo shi yi zhi xiao mao                                    Mandarin
Wo hai ya zi xiu mou                                      Cantonese
Wo si yi zi xiao mao                                        Sichuan
Ami choto biral                                                Ban gal 



                                  Ore was Ookina Tora da!
                               I Am A Big Tiger! - Japanese

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No Words Do Him Justice  / Cory Cress (Good Friend )
I’ve been meaning to write again about Justin. It has been difficult to do so, because I think that no stories of Justin will do him or his legacy enough justice. Not a day has gone by since he passed that I haven’t thought about him. My earliest memories of my life involved but a handful of people. Justin was one of those people. My parents lived on the same street as his parents when I was born. Justin was born 5 months before me. Growing up, our families constantly did stuff together. This includes barbeques, numerous vacations, bike rides, hikes, annual Blue Bell Fun Run, trips to Lake Somerville and much, much more. When our families were not hanging out together, chances are that I was asking my parents if I could go spend the night over at Justin’s house or invite him over to our house. I considered him my best friend for the longest time. For most people, friends might come and go. Justin was always such a fun person to be around from his childhood years to adulthood years. This is also a testament to his parents, Bob and Valerie. They obviously did such a great job at raising him.

There are a few stories that I always tell people about my time with Justin. One particular event involved exploring a park area with him, Bob, Valerie, Brittany and Kimmy. We came across a good sized tree that was coming out of the ground at about a 20 degree angle and extending probably over 50 feet. I can’t quite remember who came up with the idea (chances are that it was Bob), but we eventually started walking up the tree. I seem to recall me leading the way. After walking about halfway up the tree, we started to hear a cracking noise. The tree quickly snapped and everyone already on the tree jumped to get off…well, everyone except for me. I was at the highest point and my feet seemed to be frozen. Luckily, I managed to ride the tree down without any injuries. I was probably around 8-10 years old and got my real taste of an adrenaline rush.

Another memory I have is a story that I mentioned when I gave his eulogy and also one of my favorite memories. One night, I spent the night over at Justin’s house and was sleeping on the bottom bunk bed. Justin was sleeping on the top bunk when I woke up to a cracking noise (starting to see a pattern?). Suddenly, the top bunk, along with Justin, came crashing down on me. I managed to turn my face to the side in time, which probably prevented a broken nose. The funny part, looking back anyways, was that Justin kept on sleeping. I managed to wake him up fortunately, and he rushed to wake up Bob and Valerie. Bob managed to pry to the top bunk off of me. Needless to say, I was no longer keen on bunk beds after this incident. Bob recently mentioned to me that he built the bunk bed. I must’ve blocked that part out.

Although those might have been semi-traumatic incidents at the time, I always loved to be around Justin and his family. We played soccer together growing up and did many other activities. Towards the end of high school and most of college, we grew apart to some degree. He went to SMU while I attended Texas A&M. We did speak to each other on occasion and even hang out from time to time. Even if we did not speak to each other for a year or so, it was extremely easy to talk to him like nothing had ever changed. We would talk about childhood memories, recent events and future plans. I still remember a conversation where I told him about a girl that I was dating (now my wife) and he told me about a girl that he had just met (Kelly). I got a chance to meet her soon thereafter and it became very apparent about how good of a match that they were for each other.

We kept in touch even after he moved to San Francisco with Kelly. I got engaged in 2003 and told him the news during our next phone conversation. There was no question that I wanted him to be one of my groomsmen. He told me that he would be honored to be one. Besides my brothers, he was the only non-family member standing next to me the day that I got married. I would have it no other way. When he told me the news of his engagement, I was thrilled for both him and Kelly. He had asked for engagement ring advice well before the actual engagement and I was happy to give it to him.

When I received the news of his passing on June 20th of this year, I was in shock. Sometimes, I still can’t believe that he is gone. He was such a good person, likable guy with an infectious personality. He had an uncanny ability to befriend just about anyone that he ever met. I always admired that quality, among many other qualities that Justin had. There is nothing that I can ever say to Kelly or Justin’s family that will ever give them the comfort or resolution that they need in the wake of Justin’s passing. I would give anything to be there when he needed me the most. Instead, I have to settle for trying to be the type of person that Justin was during his lifetime. He touched so many people and this is very evident from reading the other stories that people have written. He left a mark on the world that will always remain. I love you man and I know that I will see you again up in Heaven. Close

Road Trip to Ruidoso, New Mexico  / Steph Palatka
It was spring break 1992, Justin's dad Bob(Capitan), his mom Valerie, sisters Brittany & Kimmy, friend Chris Bairrington, and I all packed into the Brindley's big brown van, hit the interstate and were headed to Ruidoso, New Mexico to go skiing(Ski Apache).  On the first day of the trip we stopped in west Texas at Guadalupe Mountain National Park and hiked to the top of the Guadalupe Mountain(8,749 ft.).  Out of all the times we've gone hiking I think this is the only time we actually stayed on the trail the whole way up and down the mountain.  The reason for that could be because we were all hiking in our sneakers that lacked any kind of traction.  After we got down the mountain we piled back into the van and drove to a hotel to stay for the night.  I can't recall exactly what city or town the hotel was located in, but I do remember that it was called The Roadway Inn.  It was pretty late so instead of driving to a place to eat Bob & Valerie decided for us to have dinner in the hotel restaurant.  There was a salad bar and a buffet there, we all got in line behind Bob to get our food.  The person that was in front of Justin's dad had a pretty runny nose, so much so that a couple of snot drippings made it into the bowl of salad at the bar causing all of us to skip the veggies and go directly to the buffet where we got some chicken and sides.  When we all got our dinner and sat down at the table Capitan Bob cut into the chicken only to find out that it was still bleeding and announced to everyone that the chicken was still alive.  He and Valerie stopped all of us from eating any of the food on our plates and packed us into their van again and we headed to the nearest fast food joint that was open.  When we finally finished eating dinner we drove back to the Roadway Inn, or as we called it the Roadkill Inn, and went to our rooms to get some sleep.  When we walked into our room for the first time that night and turned the light on we saw that the mirror on the wall had been smeared with boogers, none of which were any of ours.  I can't remember if we stayed in that same room or requested a different one, but I do remember that Valerie made us all sleep in our sleeping bags on top of the comforter on the beds that night.  The next morning we headed out early and drove on to Ruidoso while listening to Bill Cosby & Robin Williams comedy performances on casette tapes.  We got to the rental house where we were staying, unpacked our stuff from the van and went to the ski resort to rent equipment.  Since all of us kids were beginner skiers I remember us talking about taking ski lessons at the resort during the drive there, but after going down the bunny slope once or twice Capitan Bob decided he could teach us how to ski.  He took us all up to our first green run and had us ski down while talking us through the how-to's and showing us the basics.  I remember Justin was a natural at skiing, he caught on real quickly and was even going down the blue slopes(ironically one of which was called CAPITAN) on the second day and went down a few black runs on the other days, which was very impressive considering he was 13 years old at the time.  When the week was coming to an end and we all had learned to ski successfully, it was time to pack into the big brown van again and hit the road, this time back to Sugar Land, Texas.  Anytime anyone asks me if I've ever skied before I always think about my first skiing experience and that trip we all took to Ruidoso, New Mexico.  Close

Thanksgiving Dallas, Texas  / Steph Palatka

   It was the week of Thanksgiving and Justin's Dad (Capitan Bob), his Mom (Capitan's First Mate, Valerie), his crew, my brother JD and I all drove up to Dallas to spend the holiday with Justin in his neck of the woods.  Justin lived in what looked like a house on the outside but had separate apartments on the inside, his was upstairs.  I think it was located on Daniel Ave., but I could be confusing that street with the house he lived in after the apartment.  Those of you that lived in Dallas probably know where I'm talking about.  Since it was Thanksgiving week in the college town it was pretty empty in the area and his apartment complex was very quiet except for a couple students that stuck around for the holidays.  Justin's mom and dad stayed at a nearby hotel while Justin & I stayed in his apartment and Brittany & JD stayed in the apartment across from Justin's.  I want to say it was Nathan's place but I'm not certain.  I think he left his door unlocked or Justin had a key, either way we got into that apartment and if the occupant of that place is reading this right now...we did do some snooping.  We were looking for a movie to watch and came across Pete's Dragon.  We popped it in the VCR and watched it in that apartment across the hall while drinking some beer we found in that fridge and taking a few disgusting whiskey shots.  We weren't able to go to any bars during that visit because Brittany & I weren't 21 yet and couldn't get in.  But I remember Justin telling us about a bar called The Green Elephant(or some place with a similar name) and bar called Deep Elem that he wanted to take JD to.  While in Dallas during the day JP's parents would meet us at his apartment and we would hang out and walk around the city, we also went shopping at the huge Galleria there and ate at some restaurants that Justin knew about.  At night Justin, Brittany, JD & I went to the Malibu Speed Zone where we first had to get our license to drive the cars and then raced each other around the track a few times.  Afterwards we went inside where there were two floors filled with arcades.  I remember Justin immediately found where the Golden Tee(a golf game) game was and kept us all in a tournament against him for most of the night.  The other nights we would have a few drinks while competing in some serious foosball games in his apartment.  On Thanksgiving Day we picked up the meal his mom & dad ordered from either Tom Thumb or Kroger and also picked up some eye drops for a pretty bad/gross eye infection that JD had mysteriously contracted during the trip.  We all celebrated Thanksgiving together in Justin's apartment in Dallas that year and created another very special memory that I will never forget and Always hold inside my Heart Forever.

Happy Thanksgiving Justin

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Thanksgiving Durango, Colorado  / Steph Palatka (Friend)

   It was the week of Thanksgiving and Justin's sister Brittany(Boo) and I were living together in Durango, Colorado.  We had the week off of school so instead of going back to Sugar Land for the holidays Justin, my brother JD, his wife Rebeca and my parents came up to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving week with us.  The day before Thanksgiving Day Justin, Britt, JD & Rebeca were planning an early 21st birthday small surprise party for me.  My parents took me out somewhere that night so that the rest of them could decorate and set up for the surprise.  When I opened the door to enter the apartment I was immediately greeted with Justin spraying me in the face with silly string and Britt, JD & Becs covering the rest of me, Justin, themselves and our apartment with their cans.  After blowing out the 21 candles on the Scooby-Doo birthday cake they had ordered for me and knocking back a few tequila shots & I remember a couple buttery nipples going down too, we each cut ourselves a piece of cake.  Since I was the only one without a can of silly string during the surprise ambush, I knew the perfect way to get my revenge.  I quickly picked up my slice and smashed it in Justin's face, which was immediately followed by an all-out war and all 5 of us wearing the rest of that Scooby cake.  Since we were out of cake we started to grab whatever we could find within reach, particularly in liquid form, to keep the battle alive.  When we eventually ran out of ammunition, not only were we all covered in complete crap, but so was Britt and I's apartment especially the carpet.  Everything was such a mess and my mom was coming over the next morning to start cooking our Thanksgiving meal and my dad was coming to watch football and drink some booze(we used some of his beer during our war) with Justin and JD.  It was well after midnight and Britt, JD, Becs & I were pretty worried about how we were going to clean the many stains and smashed cake & icing out of the carpet.  Of course our worries were put to rest when Justin came to the rescue and told us about a piece of equipment called The Rug Doctor.  Since it was already so late we all quickly packed into Brittany's Jeep still filthy from our war and Justin drove us to the Walmart while we all jammed out to Zeppelin.  We stocked up on lots of cleaning supplies, took in a few disgusted stares from the Walmart employees, stopped to take some photos of us, rented The Rug Doctor and headed back to our apartment to start the long clean up.  My parents came over as planned the next morning and never knew what took place a few hours before they were there.  My mom cooked the turkey and stuffing in our kitchen and my sister-in-law, Britt and I made casseroles in our neighbors(Red & Herbie) kitchen.  When the turkey was done and out of our oven Brittany whipped up some delicious pumpkin pies while Justin, JD and my dad did exactly what they said they were going to do...watch football and drink beer.  There was a lot of yelling and foul language taking place that day during the Cowboys football game, since Justin was finishing his senior year at SMU and living in Dallas during that time.  I don't remember who the Cowboys were playing against or even if they won that game but I'll ALWAYS remember that Thanksgiving in Durango.  

I Miss You    

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Climbing the River  / Michael Hornsby
I've posted a picture on page nine of the "photo album" from 2000, when Justin and I were hoofing around southern Costa Rica. Some of the best times I had with him were with big packs on our backs and this shot is from the top of a waterfall we scrambled up that summer after leaving our gear below. It wasn't the first cascade in the string that we climbed. I kept thinking, this is an amazing view, I can't believe we made it up here, Justin...Justin? As he was climbing higher up to the next level. We both made it up and the view was more spectacular than I could have imagined (or photographed). I wouldn't have pushed myself if he hadn't led the way. We enjoyed the spot for a good bit, he turned for a photo, and we climbed down to continue wandering around the forest. Thanks for showing the way, ever higher. Close

K-Fed / Marshall Custer (Friend)
I’ve trying to think of some good Justin stories… been thinking a lot recently about last Halloween. We had the MBA Halloween party the night after my house burned down and I showed up to Justin and Kelly’s wearing what the red cross gave me that morning. Justin broke out the whiskey for everyone while Kelly went running around the house to find a costume for Mew - I think she ended up with a bed sheet and some plastic ivy. Justin was really getting into his Kevin Federline costume, complete with fake tattoos. Fake tattoos he still couldn’t get off a week later. We ended up in a epic arm wrestling battle around closing time at the bar. He won. There isn’t any climax to the story… Just that Justin, by being as easy going and hilarious as he always was, helped my mood out more than he ever would’ve meant to that night.

hope you all are well. Close

Memory of Justin  / Janusz Makowski (Friend)
Memories of Justin

It was 6 or 7 years ago when I, Justin and another fellow went together to Mexico just across from McAllen, Texas. Main reason for us to go there was to show some seismic equipment to Leon Paczek, manager from Polish seismic company from Torun, Poland. Leon despite of his age, close to 65, liked to travel so this one-day trip was very interesting to him.
As we landed in McAllen a Mexican driver who supposed to take us to Mexico met us. The driver didn’t know it would be three guys instead of two coming from Houston and he drove a pick up truck- only room for three in the car.
Between his English and our Spanish we agreed to follow him by taxi as he was going to get a bigger car on Mexican side in Reynosa. He left us on a street in front of a small shop. Time went on and the driver wasn’t coming back. We decided to go inside the shop to get something to drink. The sales lady spoke some English and she looked like a typical Mexican girl. We had a camera, but the battery was flat so we asked her where we could get one. Without thinking she got her car and offered to take me to another store to buy battery.
When we came back Leon was still in the shop trying to talk to an older woman, who happened to be young lady’s mother. Leon was trying to start a conversation with mother asking her if she had some old Mexican coins.
She couldn’t understand why anybody would want coins which were useless not knowing Leon collected them. We tried to spend time talking as we were still waiting for our driver. Ladies never met anybody from Poland maybe with exception of Pope, so they were curious about us. We asked them if we could take pictures together as our camera was working again. As we were taking these pictures Justin’s phone rang- his father wanted to know what was going on. Instead of explaining the situation Justin literally replied
” these two Polish guys just got here in Mexico and already picked up two local women: mother and daughter” We started laughing.
Finally the driver showed up so we said good-bye to the ladies thanking them for coins and good company and continued what we supposed to do i.e. visit seismic crew. It didn’t take us as much time as we thought so we decided to stop on the way back in Reynosa and buy tequila to take with us to Houston.It looked like we had plenty of time so we were not in the hurry- after all McAllen airport was at the most 15-20 minutes away.
Well, as it is always a case we had a problem to get taxi, our driver was long time gone and Mexican taxi drivers were not very enthusiastic going trough the boarder checks. Finally we got a taxi but at the same time the traffic lane to the boarder was long and slow. Our taxi driver said it is not a problem for him: he takes us to another boarder point and will be even quicker. After 20 minutes or so we all started looking at our watches as time went fast and we could tell how far the boarder is. The driver kept saying “cinco minutos”, which made us even more nervous.
We were relieved when we saw boarder control post until the guard asked for our documents; Justin US citizen born in Texas, me- US citizen born in Poland, Leon with Polish passport and Mexican taxi driver. He questioned us what we were doing in Mexico for only 6 hrs, what was the reason for our trip, etc. He felt some funky deal was going on- but what?
Whatever we told him it didn’t sound right to him. We were asked to take our bags and get out of the car. He was carefully checking each of our bags like he had all the time on earth.
Then he found it: three bottles of tequila, which we didn’t declare. He said we have to pay import duties and fine for bringing tequila to US. It looked bad: plane was leaving less then half an hour and we had to pay penalties for liquor !?. The guard handed me stamps and asked me to pay it at cashier’s desk. All together: $4.50. We paid it and were again trying to make it to the airport. Lucky for us Justin managed to talk to the fight attendant (one speaking proper English) to get us on board with hand luggage and our tequilas.
Great guy: funny, when he commented Mexican ladies, calm when were at the boarder and initiative when he got us on plane. This is how I will always remember Justin…
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Remeberance / Chris Bairrington (Friend)
Justin was always a man of adventure. We were the best of friends in middle school and high school and spent time with each other everyday for many of those years. It is hard to believe that he was taken from us at such a young age.

There were three of us that hung out together all the time, Justin, Adam & I. The three of us we took many adventures through those years. We went wind surfing down at Texas City Dike, we camped a mile away from his house by Clements High on the river.

I remember one day we ventured down to the river to play some BB gun wars & eat some MRE’s (meals ready to eat) that Adam had brought back from overseas when he lived there. These were the worst meals ever, especially the macaroni & cheese ones. We always brought an extra aerosol can of something with us. The reason was we would build a fire into the hill & throw the can in to make it explode. It was just one of those things I guess boys do. On the way to the river we would shoot snakes, rats and anything else that we could find with our BB guns. We had low powered BB guns, the one pull type that didn’t hurt really badly when you got hit in the body. We really didn’t think about eye protection, face protection or any of that. We split off in the woods & it was the last man standing type of game. During one of the games Justin ended up getting hit right below his lip & it embedded the BB into his skin, leaving his lower lip numb. It was a good week before he got feeling back into his lip & trying to hide this from mom & dad was a chore when you are drooling & spilling your drink down the front of you the entire time! He never complained, he always just joked about it.

I am sorry I missed you buddy here in Colorado. I found Justin on facebook a month before his passing & we never got to get together. I have so many fond memories of our time together that I will cherish & reflect on for the rest of my time here. Bob, Valerie, Kimberly & Brittany I am sorry for your lose. He was an inspiration to me & has had influence me with who I am today through our time together. Kelly, I am very sorry for your lose. I am in Denver, so if you need anything please let me know. My thoughts & prayers go out to everyone, Justin was a great man.

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Freemont Ganstas!  / Mike Davis (Friend)

Unfortunately one of my favorite Justin stories I could not be a part of. I did however receive a call from Justin right after the event as he proclaimed that they just beat down some "Freemont Ganstas"... and by Freemont I mean a town near Oakland and by Ganstas I mean drunk white guys with hats to the side.

Anyhow, it's the SF Giants opening day in 2004 and unfortunately I couldn't get off work, so I gave my ticket to Justin who went with 3 of our other friends, Freddy (South San Francisco gangster) JP (San Bruno gangster turned RE agent) and Sean (A pretty boy from Minnesota). They had a "few" beers, went to the game then went down the street to a local bar where they would encounter the "Freemont Ganstas". Apparently one of the big drunk "Ganstas" kept staring at Sean because he didn't like how he looked, which happens sometimes. This escalated into the guy tackling Sean to the ground which in sighted a brawl that included, but was not limited to bottles and salt shakers. It also included an unfortunate guy who decided to jump on Justin's back from behind. This proved not to be the best idea because unfortunately for this guy and unbeknownst to the rest of us, Justin apparently knew the "Sleeper" hold which was popularized in the WWF.

Justin managed to spin the guy around to his front side and basically choke him out until he felt the "Freemont Gangsta" go limp. At this point Justin figured it was a good time to let him go, which ended with the guy falling to the ground and flopping around like a fried fish. This ensued massive panic in the bar and the group decided it was time to exit. Apparently the guy eventually came to, but it's probably the last time he'll attack someone from behind...

That story always makes me laugh and wanted to share it with the rest of you.

I miss you buddy,

Mike

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The only wall in the forest  / Michael Hornsby
Justin and I had been wandering around the forested hills overlooking the beaches in southern Costa Rica for a couple of days. The trees were so thick that you could rarely see the ocean. Our guide had warned us about the ants...kind of. He said that if he started to run, then we should run. That seemed practical. We had no problems. Once we made it down to the beach, it was gravy. We were exhausted and the ocean was the reason we had come all this way, so it was like a reunion to come back and wade into the saltwater. As we continued back towards the lodge where we were camping, not troubled about too much as I remember, we heard a strange noise...something large and approaching...and we turned to see (like I had never seen before and I have not seen since) a wall of rain. There was a strange rush of air as it approached. This wasn't really a problem, either, since conditions were very tropical. We stood there, watching the dark mass of falling water sweep along the beach towards us, the sound of countless raindrops on the sand and the rush of the earthbound rain being the only things as it then hit us. (This was the same rain that we took turns walking through to buy Pilsen beer back in Tamarindo on rained out surfing days while the thirsty waited around a table with cards.) We stood there laughing, heavy with the wash, but not minding much. It passed and we kept walking... Close

The freshman year sailing trip to Austin.  / David Wicker (Friend)
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