Remembering Brad Graham: The Lesser Kudu

On January 24, 2010, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis will open its doors to the public for "A Memorial for Brad L. Graham," 6pm at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, Missouri 63119. More details, as well as an online Remembrance Book and memorial donation form, on the Rep's (fantastic, courtesy of Brad) web site: http://repstl.org/brad

If you can't attend the service, I encourage you to check out some of Brad's writings on his blog-that's-so-oldschool-it's-called-a-weblog, "Bradlands": http://bradlands.com For me, The Lesser Kudu is perhaps his finest work; it really captures his spirit and outlook on life. I've gone back to it several times over these past three weeks and am always left upbeat, inspired. I'm reposting it below and of course with links to the original source:

The lesser kudu
My favorite animal at the Zoo is the lesser kudu. You have to admire an animal with a name like that, laboring as he must in the shadow of the greater kudu. It must be like having an older brother who excelled at sports and academics in school, to whom you have always been compared and found lacking. A few months ago, I was visiting the Zoo at lunch with a friend and discovered the area where the lesser kudu is ordinarily found was empty.

I hope he made a break for it. I hope he made his way out into the world, free of expectations, shedding labels, determined only to be the best damn kudu he could be.

--Brad Graham (originally posted July 28, 2000)

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