I'm Featuring You.. Brad Simpson

The movie Beaches is a story about two little girls that meet, by accident, on the Atlantic City boardwalk and become fast friends…one creative and a bit wild and one conservative. Remaining pen pals over the years and not seeing one another until in their 20’s… then moving in together and sharing their lives, with some rocky patches, until the end. Substitute Myrtle Beach for A.C., keeping the two little ‘girls’ and the rest (except the ‘end’, so far), and that’s my and my friend Brad’s story.

 David Bradley Simpson was born in South Carolina… our family stayed at the same hotel every year and his, at a beach house right next door. I met him when we were about 8 or so years old… we pen-paled until I was around 20… living in Philly, when he got my phone number from my Mom and called me up. I went down for a visit, the first time I had seen him in 12 years. We quickly realized that we were both gay... and to make a long story short, he moved up to Philly with me and moved in with me. At the time, I was a lot more anal retentive than I am now (with lines in the carpets, etc.), so needless to say, the two of us in a studio apartment was a stress on our friendship. I got him a job where I worked… and it only made things worse. The little southern boy in the big city was an adjustment for him… he didn’t want to venture out much… and when he did, the idea of one-way city streets was a new and scary concept for him (“David… there are cars coming at me!). We lived together one other time in a bigger place some time later that worked out great… and he got me a job at the company where he worked some years later. Despite moving around or job changes, we have always remained close and in touch.

 Known as David by some and Brad by me and his family, he is the most articulate person that I know. With beautiful handwriting and a way with words backed by a broad knowledge base, it’s no wonder that he is so aptly positioned in a career of human resources and the legal system. And that overflows into some of the most beautifully-written (he’ll like that I hyphenated that correctly) poetry I have ever experienced. With his two dogs, Sadie (recently passed) and Caspar, he blossomed into a true, southern gentleman full of love and compassion and has surrounded himself with many who love him to death. I have always looked up to him being the most rational person I have ever met…. Full of ideas and definitely opinions (that he doesn’t mind sharing with you vehemently), his constant quest for knowledge is evident in his ability to talk on any subject…. And talk… and talk. Blessed with a great voice, we have sung many a duets in our car rides… that is, when he doesn’t pass out instantly when the car starts moving, most times mid-sentence… and one time on the train to NYC (where he drooled and we all laughed).

Finding himself in a destructive relationship and developing an addiction to Crystal Meth (divulging with his prior consent) that almost ruined him completely, he is now 2 years and 4 months clean, very active in NA, sponsoring many people and only a phone call away for others…dedicating himself to a better life for himself as well as making other recovering addict's experience easier. When I found out, I was floored… how could this happen to someone that I was so close with and that had it so together? But drugs work in mysterious ways and to all people for different reasons… across the board. After bringing him back here to Pittsburgh to live with me until he got back on his feet, he realized that the best place for him was with his family, which is where he is now… back in Myrtle Beach, now the Human Resources Manager for Ripley’s.

 I am so proud of him for many reasons, most of all for his inner strength to pull himself up by his bootstraps. And while we don’t keep in touch as often as I’d like to, we still talk every couple of weeks to check in or shoot an email or say hi on Facebook… as well as him following my blog faithfully. He has been my friend, confidant, voice of reason, ‘wind beneath my wings’, C.C. Bloom and family for just about 35 years. I am truly blessed to know him.