First of all, Brad and Judy have been very, very special friends to me, too special to even categorize unless you wanted to say once in a lifetime. We have hiked all sorts of mountain trails, traveled to Italy together and to London and we once got to New York in time to see Christo's wrap of Central Park. Once when I was out of work, I flew to Chicago and Brad hosted me in the city then took me for a flight in a Stearman Bi-Wing he co-owned. It completely transferred my mind to a state of being just plain thankful -- which is generally the effect Brad has on anyone who really gets to know him.

He originally moved to Asheville from Louisiana to be a writer, to maybe follow in Wolfe's footprints. What he became, instead, is a person who is (yes) a writer, but also a leader, a conjurer of ideas, an inspiration to creative types of all varieties, and mostly, once again, a true friend to many, many, many people. It was sort of a miracle we met up-- and I'll always be grateful for it.

There are so many memories along the way but one of my favorites is sitting in Peter and Jazz Gentling's garden on Town Mountain and conjuring up Thomas Wolfe -- actually scripting what Wolfe would say about Asheville if he were to show up today. We then hired an actor who played the part of Wolfe -- this was in the eighties -- and working off script, that actor castigated the audience at ACT that day for not caring enough for downtown and for implanting a building that looked like a sternwheeler in the middle of everything. I'm pretty sure it was Wolfe, wringing his hands, who started the whole downtown Renaissance. Well, that was Brad's work.

I think Brad has accomplished a lot more than being a writer -- whether for the cinema or for advertising or for the Chicago Tribune's Sunday edition. I think he has managed to be one of the best friends a person could have -- and that certainly includes me, my daughters Sara and Alison, their mom, and a host of characters too many to render -- and many yet to be named.