Till We Meet Again

By: E.J. Stankiewicz
05/26/2011 

 Like most of the Mets internet world, I was shocked and saddened this morning learning the news that long-time Mets fan, author, historian and friend Dana Brand had passed away. Anyone who knew Dana, knew him to be one of the kindest, gentlest human beings you would ever meet with the ability to make a complete stranger feel like an old friend. Dana was as well versed in Mets history as anyone I have ever met and could recall specific games from a time before the internet existed as though they were just played yesterday. When I last had a chance to spend time with him we even discussed the logistics of him writing a blog recounting as many games as possible from a dreadful mid-90s Mets team, while both sharing a few laughs. 

It is no surprise that of the hundreds of days I spent at Shea Stadium in my life, Dana played a part in my all-time favorite. Having been able to spend a part of that day with him and his family (the only subject he spoke about more passionately than the Mets) will forever be an honor. As Dana recounted in his blog, there were forces at play that day beyond any of us. At one point we were both standing there staring at the nearly complete Citifield the way an aging executive looks at the newly hired VP 20 years his junior and Dana simply said "We'll see....." Over the past two seasons I have been very critical of the new ballpark, not so much because I dislike it, but because of how much I loved Shea. Dana understood this sentiment better than anyone. So much of the time I spent with him was relishing in good times at Shea

There was so much to admire about Dana, but for me his love the game and eternal optimism will always be a trait I will try to portray in his honor. I sat with him at a game last year when the healthiest Met was Luis Castillo and Dana's thought process was "Well at least we'll get to see what some of these kids can do."

Dana also played a critical part in The Happy Recap's development. When his first book came out we were a fairly young website just beginning to build a following, yet Dana happily joined us for the text chats we hosted back then to talk about all things Mets. One of the biggest and most rewarding surprises I have had during this endeavor on the internet was seeing him reference our site in his first book. He also became a regular poster to the message board which made him more than just an author trying to sell a book, he legitimately just liked having yet another forum to meet new Mets fans and get their impressions of the team (Although he did register, I could not drag him kicking and screaming into the Twitterverse.) 

2 years ago we began the radio show associated with our site and Dana was a regular guest of ours. After an appearance about a year before his second book was released we finished the interview saying to him we would have him back on to promote it, to which Dana replied "Guys, please have me back before then so we can just talk Mets." That was Dana, the man wrote two amazing Mets books, but at the heart of everything just wanted to talk about a team he so dearly loved.

My partners and I have been waiting for sometime before going live with this blog, and we are aware there is still some fine tuning to be done, but today felt like the most appropriate day to log our first entry. Dana was a phenomenal writer and we are blessed to have so much material of his we can go back and read, and I know that when we did finally launch, he would have been the first to wish us congratulations and offer advice. So while I can never deem to write at a caliber of Dana Brand, I hope I make you proud, buddy. I know where you are, you'll be watching from a very comfortable seat down the left field line, and I know that seat will be a Shea original, just like you were.