Do You Know Where Your Punk Is?

punk red suitThankfully (from a parent’s point of view), Brandon didn’t wear his pants halfway down his backside, spike his hair, or dress as punk as some of his friends. I think because he packed groceries at the local supermarket he chose to reign it in a bit. You wouldn’t normally find him doing the lavish party bus Dayton Ohio thing or overstepping his boundaries. He didn’t need to care, but for whatever his reasons, he did.

Off duty, he often ran into people he knew from being at the market, and occasionally his employer or members of his employer’s family. Brandon was a smart guy, and because we are a small community within a larger metropolitan area, he knew his inner punk needed to be expressed differently – especially since his part-time job helped to make his car payment. “I don’t need to advertise my punkness. A real punk doesn’t need to show off…Its like a Karate man… the Karate man bleed on the inside. A real punk is punk on the inside.” –Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) Continue reading

Punk Lives On

punks not dead

Having the heart of a punk isn’t always easy. Brandon liked the idea that he could be his own man, even if it went against the norm – especially if it went against the norm. He experimented, like all teenagers with different personas, and I’m not sure he would have settled on the punk mentality if he had had a chance to grow into a man. Who’s to say? As a parent I simply wanted him to know he had the space to be whatever expression he needed to be.

Brandon was a good worker. He was inspired by his uncle to open his own business since he helped him with his Kansas City plumbing company over the summer months. Surprisingly they had a common taste in music and when they worked together they would play Punk rock all day long. Music is the great uniter, right? Here are a few of Brandon’s favorite artists and their latest releases:

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