Tonight we gathered to celebrate the Life of Brian -- Brian Graef (December 2, 1964 - December 16, 2012). I met Brian (nicknamed Beavis) in 2003 when I joined the cast of Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, TX. I didn't particularly care for him that much at the time. In 2007, we taught Improvisational Acting together where I got to know him a little better, and realized that much to my surprise, he was more than the drunken womanizer I thought him to be, and he was in fact, a nice guy. In 2010, I found myself involved in a more detailed conversation with him at a pool party. Shortly after that, I was invited to join the improv group The Motley Players III (MPIII)of which he was one of the three founding and main members. Over the next two-and-a-half years, I came to know Brian through rehearsals, performances, and quite a bit of instant messaging. He was a fun guy with a great sense of humour.

While I debated back-and-forth about whether to introduce my bag to Brian at his memorial tonight (let's face it, a memorial may not be the best place to bring an attention grabbing cartoon bag), things quickly spiraled out of my control within minutes after I arrived. Doing the right and proper thing, I left my bag in car. Mistake. I hadn't been there five minutes before another member of our improv group asked where my bag was and told me I had to take a picture of the bag with the coffee can. So, I went to get my bag, and then we had to wait for the right moment to try and stealthily take this photo without offending too many people. Forgive the lack of setup and picture quality as speed was essential in this endeavor.

And thus, I was able to introduce my bag to Brian. I am pretty sure I heard him laughing.