Why I Tell My Guy Friends “I Love You”
We often underestimate the significance of our final chance to convey a friend’s true importance
Michael Kenneth Doggett passed away on March 10, 2024. Adding to the tragedy, he is survived by his wife Brandi, who is also pregnant with their first child. Doggett, as everyone called him, died in a freak car accident on the way home from a work trip. Nearly a decade ago, Doggett and I met in a sleepy coffee shop in Austin, Texas, where he grinned like Batman’s nemesis, The Joker.
“Dude. You gotta stop smiling like that. Someone in here is gonna think you’re a serial killer,” I teased.
“I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna pop the question to Brandi!” he exclaimed through that infectious smile. “So, I wanted to ask if you’d to marry us, too?”
I married Doggett and Brandi on a warm April afternoon. Doggett and I then spent the following decade going to metal concerts together, laughing and drinking craft beer on Friday afternoons, and serving those with mental health issues in the non-profit I worked for during summers on Vans Warped Tour.
Doggett never met a stranger and was one of those rare people who viewed serving others as an honor. While he told people that “Acts of Service” was his love language, what he really meant is…
