My Sunday Sun column is about my younger brother, Eddie Rodricks. If you want, you can read it by following this link to the Sun’s website. I thought I would post a couple more pictures of my big little brother here. I don’t have more to say right now, except thank-you to the hundreds of readers, relatives, newspaper colleagues, old friends and Facebook friends who have expressed condolences and empathy for Eddie’s family since the column was posted online on Friday. I’ll close with a line from a memorable letter-to-readers written in 1979 by the late Chicago columnist Mike Royko:

If there’s someone you love but haven’t said so in a while, say it now. Always, always, say it now.   

Published by Dan Rodricks

Dan Rodricks is a long-time columnist for The Baltimore Sun, winner of numerous national and regional journalism awards, a radio and TV personality, podcaster and fly angler. His narrative memoir, "Father's Day Creek," was published in May 2019 by Apprentice House at Loyola University Maryland.

19 thoughts on “We were not finished being brothers”

  1. Grief counseling left me with a phrase, that I fall back on time and time again:
    ” Some things can’t be fixed, they can only be carried”
    It gives me strength, when the lacerating pain of missing my little sister, Mary overcomes me.
    I hope it helps you too, Dan.
    Heartfelt condolences,
    Anna Di Legge

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  2. My sincerest condolences. Your portrait of your brother is beautiful. I wish I had known him. He seems like such a good person.

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  5. Losing a sibling is the weirdest thing. You grow up as part of a set that’s imprinted in your brain, and now the set isn’t the same.

    We lost my youngest sister in January 2019. It was unthinkable.

    But one small comfort is that the set remains. In your mind and heart, it’s there.

    And of course, it’s unthinkably sad. I was so sorry to read your column. Your beautiful words made me cry.

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  6. My deepest condolences, Dan! I lost my younger brother Brian, suddenly 5 years ago, due to a tragic drug overdose. He was only 48 and had been clean for many years, but he fell back into the wrong crowd and started using again to try to combat his depression and PTSD.

    Unbeknownst to him, there was Fentanyl mixed in, which according to the coronor’s report caused his death. The police on the scene told us that the previous week a young woman on the next street over in her early twenties died from the same thing.

    Reading your article brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me of the years growing up with my brother – both the good times and the stupid fights we would have, which all brothers go though.

    I tried talking with Brian about his depression many times (including the week before his death) and he was also seeing a therapist for many years, but he just couldn’t seem to pull himself out of it. To this day, I still wonder if I could have done or said anything different that might have helped prevent this tragedy. My wife reminds me that I was always there for him and he knew how much I loved him.

    After the funeral, one of his friends told me that Brian didn’t want me to find out he had started using again because he looked up to me and didn’t want to disappoint me. The friend said he was actually planning to go back into rehab and that this might have been a last hurrah before committing to quitting, as many addicts are known to do.

    I’ve always let the people I love know how I feel about them, but after losing my brother and many others close to me, I take every opportunity now to make it known to them. You just never know when you or they will be gone. Rest in peace Brian and Eddie!

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  10. So, very sorry for your loss, and the missing link your life. My brother die of cancer in 2010, and I miss his voice on my cell phone, since he called me most every day. Only 16 months apart in age, were connected, as only siblings can be, by life experiences shared, stories told, and love that has no description. As someone once stated, “Grief is hard, because we loved so much.” – Connie Robinson, Annapolis, MD

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  11. Thanks for sharing the great boyhood pictures. I’m sure they evoke fond memories for you. Your column will stand as an admirable and lasting tribute to your beloved brother.

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  12. I am so sorry for your loss. But you are not finished being brothers. He will always be with you. In time, your grief will soften some though it will probably always be there, like your memories.

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  14. Dan, I am so sorry! My younger brother died in his sleep this last December 1. As far as we all knew he was in good health and had baked his usual five pies for Thanksgiving. It’s been a terrible shock. Reading your beautiful column about the death of your brother somehow eased my own pain. Thank you for this and also for all you write and do to make our beloved and beleaguered city a place to call home.

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