Back in 2008, on the eve of March sixteenth into the seventeen, I lost my spiritual brother, Mike G, to cancer. It's been eighteen long years since his passing, and my life has never been the same. I always thought that it should have been me who died that day. Mike had a lot more to offer the world than me. I never really embraced life the same way that he did. 

This guy deserved to live a very long life. So I will never forget this day for as long as I am here. Have any of you out there ever met someone that you know exactly why they were brought into your life, well that was Michael for me… I am almost positive that each and every one of you have experienced a loss like this. Michael was my brother-in-arms. Every time a special occasion comes around that we’ve shared, it hits me like a ton of bricks that he's really gone. To keep his memory alive, I go to his gravesite every year with his parents. This is a part of our tradition to celebrate his life. To this day, it is one of the most profound periods of grief that I've experienced in my life.

Michael had a one-of-a-kind sense of humor and always made me laugh. No matter what I was going through at the time, he was always around when you needed someone. I will never forget the first time we met, it was in a boys’ bathroom at school. It was my first day in a new school, and I didn't want to be there. I hid in the bathroom for close to two hours until he walked in and changed my life. We left school together that day, and while walking down 73rd Street and West End Avenue, I found out we shared the same date of birth. As the years went on, Michael and I shared lots of experiences together. 

In late 1996, we created The Mark After Dark Show. He would have loved the success that the show has experienced. But at the same time Michael and I were and still are very different people. He loved to socialize and loved people, whereas, I hated and mis-trusted everyone, except for a few. For some oddball reason, our friendship kinda' worked for 30 years. 

So, today I celebrate his life, keeping his memory alive, and thanking him for being a big part of mine. ~ Mark After Dark

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