HARDY
My dad had a stepbrother named Hardy. Hardy was actually his surname and his first name was Harold, but he hated his first name and always insisted on being referred to as Hardy. My dad, Arnie, and Hardy became stepbrothers when they were sixteen-years-old. With both their parents being divorcees, Hardy’s mother married my grandfather. The two boys had been born three months apart and had not only become stepbrothers after the marriage of their parents, but also best friends. Two years later, after their graduation from high school, my dad attended university to study dentistry and Hardy attended a technical college. Resultantly, they went their separate ways. Hardy moved to a faraway city in pursuit of his trade, and that was also where he also finally settled. As a result of this, I had very little interaction with Hardy growing up and therefore, he was somewhat of a phantom figure in my life. All knowledge I had of him was by way of family pictures and anecdotes from my father....