Meet the Bridal Party: Rob (Best Man)

Eric says:
You may have been able to guess that I would ask my brother, Robert, to be my best man. It seems like the standard choice for most brides or grooms to pick their siblings as maid of honor or best man. But let me address that in just a minute. First I'd like to tell you a little bit about my older brother. For one thing he's a mechanical engineer at Ford Motor Company. So if you have nay complaints about your Ford vehicle (as I have) I'll give you his work email address. Expect a response in about 5-10 years. Rob just finished building a pole barn to house his growing collection of semi-functional vehicles at his home near Detroit, MI. I actually did some drawings for him to help get the project through the process of building permits. And I think our Dad helped him wire it for electricity. So if this thing is still standing a year from now, it will be a minor miracle.

Rob and his wife, Shannon, recently adopted two pit bulls as a way to prepare themselves for the challenges of having children. So far, I think they've taught Vigo and Lily to stay off the dining room table, stop eating chocolate chip cookies out of the cupboard, and not chew the wood moulding from around the front door. Well done. I'd say you're both ready for kids!

But let me use an analogy to illustrate probably the most important thing I'd like you to know about my brother. I tend to somehow relate just about everything in my everyday life back to my running career. And one thing I know is that on a training run or in a race, it is hard work to be the frontrunner. It takes more mental and physical energy to lead the pack, break the wind, and set the pace than it does to follow. Often, the frontrunner makes it possible for those following to surpass the goals that even they have set for themselves and achieve times that they could not have run on their own. So to complete the analogy, my older brother Rob has been and continues to be the frontrunner in my life. He has always led the way for me through school, sports, boy scouts, career, and many other life choices. Following his lead has given me the ability to face life's challenges and choose my pursuits with confidence. I love him for that and I hope that I can someday return the favor by leading the way for him. That is why I am proud to have my brother Robert stand by my side as best man at my wedding. Best man, best bro, best times.

Eric visiting Rob at RIT.

Rob says:
Well let me start off by saying I am Eric's older and wiser brother – and he knows it. We grew up in Freehold, NJ and had a lot of good times together – although our parents would probably tell you that we weren’t the best behaved boys in the world – but that comes with the territory – not our fault they had two boys. We did Boy Scouts together, played little league, soccer, took art class, and did a lot of family camping trips across the country. I seem to remember Eric getting away with a lot more then I was – although he knew exactly which buttons to push when it came time to battle our parents. Those memories seem so far away now – but are still very vivid in my mind. After high school I went away to college in Rochester, NY and he went to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. He wanted to do architecture and I was interested in engineering. When you grow up with a sibling and spend the better part of 18 years around them it is certainly hard to part ways and move to different parts of the country. I think the fact we are both happy in the careers we chose and the places we ended up (although I have lost count of the places Eric has lived the past 5-8 years) eases the pain of only being able to see each other several times a year instead of being able to walk across the upstairs hall and punch him the arm….anyway – I too will not give away too much information here as I still have a speech to write – which I have been mentally preparing for the last 5 years since he gave the best man's toast at my wedding – just remember paybacks are hell…..

I believe Eric and Margaret have truly met their "match". They have similar interests, are extremely competitive, and really complete each other. I will divulge one story I remember Eric telling me so as not compromise my forthcoming toast. I think it was in Pittsburgh – Eric told me that he and Margaret had gone out to play pool – at a local billiard hall. She drove and when they got to the billiard hall Eric walked inside but Margaret was still outside. He went back out to see where she was and she had opened the trunk of the car and was pulling a cue stick case out. He got a little nervous but that is not where it ended. She opened the cue stick case, screwed the two halves together, and then came the final straw. She proceeded to put on a billiard glove. I think it was at that moment when Eric realized that he would be in competition (the healthy kind of course) for the rest of his life – and I don’t mean the running kind.

I think we are all looking forward to this wedding – which has officially been a decade in the making….since they celebrated their 10 year "dating anniversary" last weekend. I look forward to meeting all of Eric and Margaret's friends and being able to participate in their wedding and support their marriage for years to come.