Craig's tribute to his twin, Jay

 Jay was born in Worcester, MA on 03, September 1968. He was a boy scout. He also served as an altar boy at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Gardner. As boys, Jay and I spent a lot of time riding our bikes around town and, at an early age, we started delivering newspapers for the Gardner News.             

     Jay and I started running shortly after being inspired by the 1976 Olympic games. Although I am a decent runner, I could never match the speed and dedicated discipline of Jay. We entered a number of races over the years and I do not believe that I was ever able to beat him! People could tell us apart by our posture and our demeanor. He would always stand erect, straight as an arrow, while I was content to sit back and slouch!   Sometimes, we would skip school. I would go off to the sand pit and shoot at cans with my .22, while Jay would go off somewhere and read Shakespeare or Dante!            

     Over the years, Jay developed a mastery of the English language. He studied the classics and was particularly fond of the works of Victor Hugo. He also took an interest in the history of the middle ages, Latin, and the medieval church.            

     Jay was a prolific reader and writer. In 2014, he published An Ocean of Stories, which is a collection of tales and sketches that he had worked on over the years. Just before his death, his novel Astrolabe was published. It is his masterpiece, and shows the true genius of my brother. Another collection of short stories called A Forest of Stories was published after his death in 2018. It is a collaborative effort. Jay worked on editing the stories with his wife, Tina and his sister-in-law, Tracy, up until he no longer had the capacity to do so. He has also left some unfinished writings, which I will be working on to complete. However, Jay’s biggest achievement was nurturing the young minds of his students.          

     I loved my twin brother. I will find it hard to move on into the uncertain future without him. When he died, a part of me died with him. I was there with him at the beginning, and I held his hand at the end knowing before he took his last breath when it would come. I cannot explain this except to say that I was his twin. We were inseparable. I know that he will always be there, as his essence is a part of my soul that can never be detached from me.       

I will plod onward towards my own destiny. The ghost of my twin helping me toward the finish line…