"I'm Brian and I'm buyin"

Brian, Brian, Brian....

Where do I even begin?
To start, I've never ever in my life meet anyone like Brian. He certainly possesses quite a unique personality and perspective on the world.
Brian hails from Tacoma, Washington and has made his career out of driving skiff's for purse seiners (the type of fishing boat I'm on). His true calling in life, lays with permanently working in a boat somewhere out on the ocean. On land he doesn't always do so good. Whether it's dealing with some of his crazy friends or convincing himself that the IRS is constantly out to get him, Brian seems to have a constant trail of drama.
The guy is incredibly tough and resilient. To start with he has the worst diet I've ever seen. The other day I tallied his daily consumption which equaled 3 large cheeseburgers, 8 cokes, 2 glasses of milk, and a basket of fish n chips. He topped things off with a pack of cigarettes. I'm amazed sometimes to see him driving around in the skiff covered in exhaust smoke with a cigarette butt hanging between his lips. I've seen the guy take some brutal injuries on this boat before. One time a line snapped and hit him square in the shoulder. He slumped over for five minutes and I thought he for sure was done. But that's not his style, he keeps on going, keeps on plugging away at life. Must have an amazing set of genes.
He always can make me smile rolling up to the dock, sometimes wearing leather vest with tassells hanging, cowboy boots, and his belly hanging down. That's a rare occasion. Most days you see him wearing his denim jacket/jeans with white high tops rocking a prince valiant haircut (straight out of Bon Jovi 80's video).
Brian can do some pretty dumb things. He makes up for his lack of knowledge in some areas by being extremely talented and resourceful in others. The guy has a unique brain that functions unlike most.
For all the time Brian drives me ballistic (or I drive him nuts), he makes up for by being a truly genuine/caring person. He's friendly with everyone, always saying hello and asking how they're doing. Sometimes I find it refreshing to known that truly kind and honest people like that still exist in such a chaotic and hostile world.
I felt like writing this tonight because Brian got injured recently and will have to endure hours of surgery on Thursday. He won't be able to make it on the boat this summer and he will truly be missed by all of us here on the Owyhee.