If I die before I wake, at least in heaven I can skate

I was able to see quite a change in Bryce from before and after his mission. However, it should be noted that even before his mission, though he may have wanted to do crazy stuff and disobey his parents, he never did. Sure he had crazy hair and was a “skater,” but the great potential he had was always very visible to those around him. Let me give you an idea of one of the noticeable changes I did see.

On Friday, I was able to read a few entries from his journal before his mission. I can’t remember the exact wording but it went something like this. “Nothing happened today. No, nothing at all. I am writing in my journal because my mom is making me. If I am reading this, it is because I have no life. So Bryce, if you’re reading this, get up and go do something to make me proud.” This is how the majority of the entries were—doing things because mom was “making me.”

Upon returning from South Africa, I was talking to Bryce in his basement room for a good while about school, dating, snowboarding, girls, living arrangements, skateboarding and dating and girls. I tried to convince Bryce that he should talk to his dad about applying to BYU and live in a student ward to meet new people. He made it very clear that he was going to stay at home that semester, not because it didn’t sound fun or because he didn’t have the money, but because he wanted so badly to be there for his parents. He explained that it would be too hard on them for both he and his little brother (Dallin would be leaving in a few days for the Sapporo, Japan mission) to leave at the same time.

Bryce honored, respected, and looked up to his parents so much. He wanted nothing more than to make them happy and make them proud, and he sure did.

Before visiting with Bryce’s family, I tried to find anything I had that would provide for them another memory of Bryce. I was only able to scrounge up a few minutes of skateboarding footage we had taken a few years earlier. Bryce wanted to make a skate video together at that time and wanted to call it B.R.B. You see, Bryce thought he was so clever because it was a play on words. It would stand for Bryce, Richard, Brian, and also for Be Right Back (meaning we will be right back with another video). I now think of Be Right Back as a reminder that Bryce will only be gone for a short time.

Bryce never did take my advice about moving out (thankfully) but I found through my visit with his family that he did take the advice about talking to his dad and applying to BYU. He was accepted to winter semester on Tuesday morning (the day after winter classes had started).

I hope heaven is a halfpipe. I love you man. You will be missed.

--Brian