Remembrance
Good Evening,I have thought long and hard about what I wanted to say right now, and this is what I have come up with, so here I go, and as David Letterman says, "This is not a competition, so Please No Wagering"
My family and I are here today to celebrate the life of my little brother, Ralph Gerhardt
Ralph Gerhardt was a successful, hard working, smart, tough business professional in the global bond market, he is my little brother.
Ralph Gerhardt was a lover of wine and food, a great friend, considerate, loving, fun, decent, and caring, he is my little brother.
Ralph Gerhardt was the kid I played with, got into trouble with, and kept our parents on their toes with, he is my little brother.
As I met Ralph's friends in New York, and spoke with his friends in Toronto and elsewhere around the world, the one thing that really always came up was that he was a really nice guy.
Now over the years Ralph and I did not always see eye to eye on a lot of things, and the fact that since I was eight, my little brother was 6 inches or more taller than me did not help!
But he knew I could take him!
We never left things unresolved. We always came around and made up if we had a fight. We always kidded each other a little, shared thoughts, desires and worries, and joys together.
He is my little brother.
Like the time we had a fight on the back porch of our house. Mom and dad were out and we were pushing and shoving and CRASH, the glass window of the screen door was shattered.
We stopped, looked at each other, the fight was dropped and forgotten. We had a common purpose, the clean up the glass the before mom and dad came home, grabbing broom and shovel we started cleaning, just as mom and dad pulled up in the drive way.
They asked what happened, Ralph quickly answered, "I walked into the door and Stephan was helping me clean it up."
He is my little brother. For no matter what went on between us, WE always came back together in the end as friends.
I can remember when we played with our toy cars, I still have most of mine, Ralph's met the vise grips so are long gone, but we enjoyed our time growing up. Walkie Talkie Radios, ripping around the neighbourhood on our bikes, playing with the dogs, we enjoyed life.
When my parents 25th wedding anniversary approached we worked on ideas to do something special. I remember that night, not just because of the wonderful party, the great friends, the huge surprise on my parents face when they entered the ballroom to find all their dear friends waiting.
But also because, before that evening started, as we were ready to leave and get downstairs to make the final arrangements, dad took us into my room to have a little chat.
You see, it was mother's day, and we did not give mom flowers, send her a card. Dad was not pleased. He had a nice "chat" with us, Ralph was busy saying, can we discuss this later, but finally it was over. Ralph and I went downstairs and he told me in his typical slant, Boy, dad will be sorry he was angry with US!
He is my little brother.
During the Film Festival in Toronto in 1990, I was working with my dad arranging a fleet of BMWs for the VIPs. We were at a gala and I saw my brother and a couple of friends. Ralph made sure he left a positive image but left early. Later, the host of the event came out to me looking for Ralph saying he won a Brietling Watch, but they could not find him! I said Ralph had left, so I was asked to pose in the pictures accepting for Ralph. I was happy to, but when I got home that night, I thought about how I had worked hard all day, and he enjoyed the party, and now I was giving him this lovely watch.... He did know how to live, and he always wore that watch, even on September 11th.
He is my little brother.
Years ago, I had a picture of a Red 3 series BMW on my wall at home, this was the car I wanted to buy but could not afford, so I bought my little red Jetta.
I remember a call from Ralph telling him about his friend having to sell his Red 3 Series and Ralph offered to buy it from him, for a steal. Ralph, always the negotiator naturally offered to sell me the car, for about twice what he paid for it. I passed on the deal. But he always made sure to send me a picture by email of his little Red BMW while he was enjoying trips on the go.
He is my little brother.
Recently I noticed Ralph was spending a lot of time with a young lady by the name of Linda Luzzicome.
I would chat with him on line or by phone late at night and she would be there. She seemed to be there a lot in the early mornings too. I would ask him about this, but Ralph would always say, she is just a friend.
This "Friend" seemed to be spending a lot of nights over at Ralph's place, and while I never had the pleasure of meeting her and getting to know her, we did speak regularly over the summer months, and from her family I have learnt that she was happier than she had ever been because of her time with Ralph.
I like to think he learned a few things from his older brother, like how to treat a lady with respect, cook her a fine meal, candle light and such. From the calls and emails I have received since September 11th, I see he had learnt well.
I know I could call on Ralph when something needed fixing, he loved to take things apart, so any excuse would be great. Some times he would take things apart for no reason other than to see how they worked. And he always got them back together, so what if there were a few extra parts. It Worked! And usually better than it did before.
On September 11th, My little brother called our father and said he was ok and on his way out. Linda worked with him so we believe they were together in the end. He was a great person who only had love of life, passion, friendship and happiness on his mind with a touch of mischief.
As I said in an email while this was all unfolding, please be like Ralph, take the time to say I love you, to hug and kiss those around you that you love.
Enjoy your life, and help others enjoy theirs as Ralph did,
He is my little brother.
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