Where do I start when talking about Nelson E. Brown. My first statement would have to be he is my very best friend. As this website is demonstrating, I have had very many nice friends in my life, but Nelson is Number One. So many teenage experiences we have had together.

Nelson always had a weight problem and was the "fat kid" on the block. But he could move like you wouldn't believe for a guy his size. I couldn't begin to tell you how many games of basketball, one-on-one, we played for a pepsi. As good as I was, I didn't win all the time. I can only imagine the kind of an athlete he would have been without the excess weight.

After his father passed, Nelson took it upon himself to support and take care of his mother, Molly, until the day he died. And he did just that. He married a girl named Dolly and I am not sure how many kids they had but I know it was at least three.

OK, now for the memories of this guy I call my very best friend. They will probably be random as they come into my mind. I remember we double dated once and it ended up in Lady X's basement. The "kissy kissy-huggy huggy" got a little intense for all concerned and they made a quick exit to save all faces..lol.

I got him the job that he had for such a long time while I was working with my Dad at Ludwig's Drive In Restaurant on the corner of Clague and Lorain road in North Olmsted, just outside of Cleveland. Hey, we were both just cooks but he went on to become the manager of their second restaurant that opened in Berea.

Although Nelson hung around with us often at Smith's basement, more often than not he just went home and stayed out of trouble. So he says anyway. I happen to think it was for all the great, and I mean great, bakery Molly would make. She was by far the best baker I have ever known. And she liked little old Bobby...lol. Whenever she would go past the playground to Pell's Deli, more often than not she would yell out, "Bob, I have a peach pie for you when you finish playing." Just me. Nobody else. And I would scoot on over there as soon as I could cause her pies were unbelieveable. What a wonderful lady she was too.

When I got into my trouble, who was always there to try to keep me from getting into more trouble? Nelson. Too much info here to share with the world but Nelson and I shared and lived through it.

Best thing I remember about Nelson was when he used to help me read my electric meters. At the time, I was working full time with the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company reading meters. What a great and easy job that was...most of the time. They would give us a book to read that some dummy had calculated should take the full day to complete, adding in bus time to and from the area. We were not allowed to drive our own cars for insurance reasons but most of us did anyway cause it was so much faster. Reading meters was quite simple. In no more time than it takes you to look at your watch and know what time it is, a meter reader can glance at a meter and write down the information needed. So if you "ran" your route, everyone was usually done in less than three hours. If you got a route that took more than three hours, it was called a "ballbuster." Well on some evenings when Nelson and I would be out running around and drinking, I would get so drunk, I would barely be able to get up, go downtown and pick up my route book, and make it back home to bed. Then around noonish, I would get up, go over and pick up Nelson, (whom I taught how to read meters), and the two of us would go out and finish the route in about an hour and a half. Soooooo many times we did that.

But he could be nasty too. I remember one very hot summer day, around noon, I had just picked him up to go help me read meters. We were in the car while I was separating the book for his section to read. The window was up for some stupid reason and it was quite warm but I was concentrating on getting the book separated properly. All of a sudden I got a whiff of the nastiest gas I had ever smelled in my life. Just as I turned to call him some stupid name for doing it, I look over and that turkey is already leaning wayyyy outside his window, never saying a word to me. Of course, he was laughing his butt off. I couldn't get my window down fast enough. What a guy.

We also shared a love for drag racing. He and I were always going some place in Cleveland where they would be racing on the streets late at night. We both had 62 Dodge 383's with 4:56 rearend gears. We held our own but nobody could shift as fast as I could. So much fun but I thank my lucky stars today that I am still alive. We went through some very close situations at high speeds.

Over the years, my friend Nelson and I kept in touch every so often. He was busy with his family and job in Cleveland and I was out in San Diego. The last couple phone calls we had made, we talked about getting together and going out on the town. Unfortunately, by this time, Nelson, suffering with severe diabetes, had one leg amputated just below the knee and was about to have his other leg the same way. He was such an active person. Loved to hunt and fish and stuff like that. Without regular legs, a lot of that left his life. I think his remaining days were devoted to his wife and family. That is what kept him going anyway, he told me. Since I hadn't talked to him for a couple years, I called one evening and his daughter answered the phone. I asked to speak to Nelson and she told me he had passed away about five months ago. I felt like I was shot in the heart. I got the details from her and then asked to speak to his mom, Molly. She told me Molly had also passed away about three months after Nelson had. It was so hard for me to accept then and is still to this day so hard for me to accept. I keep thinking, "I will never be able to see or talk to him again. It's not like he aint home cause he went to go buy something and I can call him later. He is GONE. Dammit! I still hate it when I think of it.

I spent a lot of time coming up with just the right background song for this link. Nelson will never know how much strength I got from his friendship and how much it helped me develop into the man I am this very day. He truly was content to just "hang around" with me in all the situations we were involved in. But let me tell you, he was that strength I always knew was going to be there whenever I needed it. He was the wind beneath my wing that allowed me to get off the ground and fly through life. And now he is gone and I HATE IT! A better, more loyal best friend was never had.

I don't know how many people have a best friend in their lifetime but I know how fortunate we are. I would give anything other than my children for just a chance to speak to him one more time for a couple of minutes. My life goes on but I will never forget my best friend, Nelson E Brown. You were the best friend ever. Thank you so much for that friendship and all the memories. Someday....maybe someday......