The man in this picture is my younger brother, Patrick M. Langlois. He was born on March 17, 1969 and Died on May 7, 1995. He was not only my brother, he was my best friend. I can still remember that Sunday morning when my Mom came to my bedroom door and told me he had been killed. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with and still do try to cope with it every day of my life.
I’m writing this blog for him, because this Saint Patrick’s Day would have been his 40th Birthday. If he were still here it would be quite the celebration. This boy really knew how to grab life by the ball’s and live it. I think he did because he had come so close to death so many times that he knew the secret that a lot of people forget. When you wake up in the morning, you’ve been given another chance to see what the world has in store for you, a Gift per say. Live it to the fullest because in a blink of an eye it could be gone.
When Patrick was about 3 or 4 years old he was diagnosed with a kidney disorder called Nephrosis, forgive my spelling if that’s not right. Forcing him into the hospital many times and having to learn to be on all types of med’s. What a way for a child to have to live huh. These med’s had terrible side effects on him, one in fact causing him to balloon up and look much heavier than he was, another stunted his growth. Imagine starting school and having that against you, he was teased endlessly but never let it get him down! Patrick always had a great smartass come back for anything thrown at him and always had a Smile on his face.
As he got older he was always Mister Popular, people followed him around because of his great personality. One thing I remember from when he was in High School, was how he became one of the Football Teams favorite members and he didn’t even play! He was the freaking towel boy but they would mention his name when they were introducing the team member as they came out for every game, now how often does that happen?
It was his lust for life that made him so popular, no matter what happened, this kid he always came out of his corner swinging and smiling. Even when he almost died thanks to some crazy thing that happen with his intestines and landed him up in the hospital for months. He was King of the hospital floor he was on, all the nurses, doctors and patients knew him, it makes me laugh when I think back on it.
His life was cut drastically short because of a drunk driving accident involving himself and two of my cousins. They had gone up North for the opening weekend of Trout Fishing. Now I will let you all in on a little family secret, be it Deer Camp or a Fishing Trip these three were not going up North for the Sport, they were going for a weekend of Heavy Partying. They did it every year since they were teenagers, so I knew the score when I dropped Patrick off to work that Friday morning before his death. I can still see him sticking his head back into the car and saying “Thanks for the ride, I’ll be home Sunday night if you wanna watch a movie together and hang out” He shut the door to my car, waved and walked up to the doors of work. That was the last time I ever say him. I sat at his house until late on Sunday waiting for him, but he never showed. Figuring they decided to stay one more night, I locked up his house and went home. A few hours later I got the news……..
My cousins and him had been drinking all day & night closing out one of the local bar’s in a town near the camp site. The least drunk of the three which was the older of my cousins drove the car with Patrick in the front passenger seat and my other cousin passed out in the back seat. It’s still unclear what exactly happened to cause my cousin to swerve the way he did, but he lost control of the car running into a road sign. Normally there would have just been a lot of damage to the car but no critical injuries, the road sign would have gone down and stayed there. But in this case, the sign sprang back up crashing through the passenger side window striking my brother and killing him instantly. As sad as I am that he was killed, I take comfort in the fact that he was A) So drunk he didn’t know what had happened and B) The blow killed him quickly and I like to think Painlessly. The week that followed his death is basically a blur to me, including the Visitation at the Funeral Home and his actual Funeral. The one thing that does stick out and I really need to mention is the amount of people that attended his Funeral. There were so many people that they spilled out of the church down the step’s and onto the sidewalk. It amazes me how many lives this one Man touched in his short lived life.
I still celebrate the life of my Brother and Friend every Saint Patrick’s Day, I will be at his grave, with 2 bottles of his favorite beer “Coors Lite” and sometimes a bottle of our favorite cheap wine “Boone’s Farm” pouring him a drink with a “Howdy Neighbor” (our little saying as we pass the bottle) and a big smile mixed with tears.
I miss him still so much……Happy Birthday Baby Brother, this ones for you.
Chris, Patrick, James
