Why I Love my Brother

So my brother Chris called me last night to chat. He doesn't usually do this, but he was on the road, headed up to Yosemite for a friend's he-man birthday camping week-end (no girls allowed!). I think there was some sort of surprise element involved, but how you surprise someone with a camping trip to Yosemite is beyond me; "Hey I'm going to the liquour store for some smokes.....wanna come? Oh, and bring your sleeping bag. You know - just in case....." But whatever.

My friend Shannon was over with her kiddos, so I told him I'd call him back in an hour. And then totally forgot until I was about to go to bed. I figured he would be out of range by then, but gave it a shot anyway. Surprisingly he answered:

Chris: Hey sis!
Me: Hey dude. I thought you would be out of range by now....
C: I was, but then I got pulled back in to range...
M: Yeah? What's going on?
C: My car caught on fire.
M: Whuh? Really?
C: Totally. I was going over the Grapevine and it caught on fire. It burned all the way to the ground. The metal in the ceiling melted. I got the raddest pictures!
M: Are you okay?
C: Yeah. I got most of my gear out before it got too hot.
M: Mmmmm.....okay? So what are you going to do now?
C: I think that if I can get a cab to the Burbank airport I can get a rental car and then get back on the road. If I don't stop I think I can get to the campsite before they pack-out for Half Dome.

Do you not love this? Do you not love how even though his car has burned to the ground he is still totally fixated on getting to Yosemite in time for the man-fest? No "Shit! How am I going to get home?!?" or "How am I going to get to work?" or "I can't fucking afford this kind of crap!!". Just "Keep on target. Keep. On. Target." That level of focus takes a special kind of mind.