He e-mailed months ago, asking what he should do.
Vipul Patel wanted to buy a couple of courtside tickets to a Trail Blazers game, but they're sold out for the season. I told him to try to find a scalper, then I forgot about him.
Shame on me.
Because the 27-year old Patel, a senior financial analyst at Intel, asked again. And again. And finally, thinking this was getting ridiculous, I fired back: "Why don't you just sit in the second or third row?"
His reply hit like a bag of bricks.
"My brother is going to become a monk."
In December, Vipul's younger brother, Deepesh, 25, will give up all his worldly possessions. He'll keep a sheet to wear, a bowl to eat from, and a prayer kit to use for daily rituals. He'll even take a new Hindu name.
Then he will board a plane to India and never be permitted to talk with his friends or family again. "The soul has no relations and no attachment," Deepesh explained. "Everyone in the world becomes our family."
What we have here is a long goodbye, see...........
....................After a 32-hour flight from India on Thursday, Deepesh arrived at Portland's airport wearing the same gray polo shirt he had on a year ago when he was dropped off. He had no checked baggage. He carried only his college backpack, slung over his shoulder. When the Patel brothers came together, they bowed and touched each other's feet out of respect.
Then they fist-bumped.
The next month will be spent with friends and family. And with no regrets, the brothers said. And, maybe, too, it will include a farewell to the Trail Blazers, side by side, as they always were as young boys.
Said Deepesh: "This is a time to say 'Goodbye.' "
