Today would’ve been my brother Greg’s 67th birthday.

He was a smart, funny, loving father, husband, son, brother and friend.

He left this world much too young, just days after his 32nd birthday in 1980, while piloting a military jet near Houston.

My family and I seem to have had two lives – our life before Greg’s crash and our life afterwards. Our life before his crash was much more innocent, carefree and blissful. This second life is colored by grief and often sad, but the moments of love, joy and bliss are heightened by the realization that someone or everyone you love can vanish in the blink of an eye.

The photo on the left I took of his family the last time I saw him.

While his wife and children look to the camera, Greg notices an airplane and points to the sky.

I’ve found this photo foreshadowing and comforting over the years. To this day, when I hear an airplane, I look to the sky and think of Greg.

Happy Birthday, Greg!