I wanted to take a moment to say a very special thank you to Bungie. Recently, I've been able to reconnect with my best friend in the most meaningful way, thanks to Bungie.
The game is fantastic - I could go on and on about that, but I'm sure you've heard mountains of praise and criticism, and I don't have anything unique to add, I'd imagine.
My best friend and I grew up together in a town called Forest Acres (part of Columbia, South Carolina). You may have heard of it recently - because it flooded. There's nothing like paddling down the street past your childhood home to remind you that the world changes, and that change is unavoidable.
Greg (my best friend) and I went to school together - all the way through college. We loved it. We watched movies and played games together constantly. We moved to Los Angeles, and played HALO 3 together for so many hours it was unbelievable. We loved it. We loved gaming, and we loved Bungie.
Eventually, Greg moved back to South Carolina, and I relocated to Florida. We still spoke once every week or so, but it wasn't the same - until Destiny!
Greg had a child about 7 months ago. I saved and saved, and was able to give him, as a present, a Playstation 4 and DESTINY. It was the best money I've ever spent in my entire life. We both got headsets and spoke to each other all the time. It was amazing! We caught up on movies we've seen, chatted about life, and destroyed same nasty Fallen, Cabal, Vex and Taken - and we LOVED IT!
Greg was a police officer - a real life Guardian - and that meant that he had a nifty schedule that let us play all the time! We played as often as we could, and it was some of the best times I've ever had.
Thank you for that, Bungie!
About three weeks ago, Greg lost his life in the line of duty - serving and protecting Forest Acres, a city I know he loved, because I loved it too. Greg was the best kind of friend you could have - we grew up together, every day, so we had the kind of shorthand and history that really allowed you to understand what the other person was thinking. So when I say he loved his city (and Destiny), you'd better believe it was honest to god love.
I don't want to send two many details, but here are a couple of articles about the man and myth who has, in fact, BECOME LEGEND as you've so nicely put it:
Those two articles sum up events pretty nicely. Immediately following the most difficult funeral I have ever been to, the skies wept. The tears of the city flooded Forest Acres, and much of it ended up underwater. Because of the funeral, I was there. I was able to help Greg's family, and spend time with his wonderful, amazing wife and son, Sal - but also a lot of our old friends - and many new ones.
One thing that linked us all was games. We all had great stories about playing video games with Greg - little mini games we've invented, or really, really badass stories we'd make up. We poured over lore, looking for cool plot points, or discussing what WE thought would be the most amazing outcome for a particular theory.
And we all reconnected! Not only did we all discover each other on PSN. In fact, at least 6 new guys bought PS4's and Destiny. Sherpa's have offered to help us run, as a team, through some of the raids. It's been fun, and I can't imagine a better way to remember the guy than to go medieval on a Taken Captain. The flooding was really hard on a lot of us - especially since Greg's police office (mere minutes walk away) and his car were both also ruined in the flood:
Greg brought me back to life dozens - even HUNDREDS of times. He was the perfect gaming partner, and the friend of a lifetime. But Bungie, you gave us the most powerful gift we could want - time together - for old friends, and for new ones. I wish I could bring Greg's 'Ghost' back just one time - but I can't. What I can do is remember to cherish the time I have with my other friends, and the time I had with my greatest friend.
I do have one small request. While playing, we stumbled across a weapon called DED-ALIA III. This is sort of a bummer for us - totally not your fault! But for sure a real downer for a few guys all trying to remember the best parts of our friend's life and have a good time amid a tragedy. EDIT: His last name, for those confused, was Alia.
Greg was, for sure, an Exotic. There were almost none like him, and he was unique. I would love to see a cool weapon, like the ALIA GT FA161-186, a weapon for those who Serve and Protect, or even a really badass NPC with a great sense of humor. Anything! But at minimum, DED-ALIA hurts a little bit. Again, totally no way of calling that, and no fault of yours, but a big request from us.
In any case, I wanted to say THANK YOU to the gamers out there who have supported us and played with us, an even bigger THANK YOU to Bungie, who made an amazing game and gave me fantastic times with my best friend, even from 500 miles away, and one more THANK YOU to all of the real life Guardians and 'Heroes in Blue' that serve and protect us from the DARKNESS every day.
Thank you Bungie, for giving me and my best friend a chance to BECOME LEGENDS - because he most certainly did.
Thank you. From the deepest reaches of my weary heart.
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