From Ryan Badger

Brother,

It’s really hard to believe that this happened so suddenly. I’m trying to hold it together, and that muscle hasn’t developed yet. I’m bitter, I’m sad, and I don’t know what to think at times. It’s impossible to know just how I feel about things just yet. This emotion hasn’t ever been struck before, it’s foreign and scary. But day after day, I’ll try hard, and work to make this.

Life can be cruel and unusual punishment. It magnifies our weaknesses, but consequently magnifies our strengths. Jared, you were so strong in many different aspects of your incredible life. As your friends and family gathered round and told your incredible stories, your qualities shined through as if you were legend.

The legend of Jared lives on. He is part of who I am. He set an amazing example. He brought smiles and joy with every interaction. He was able to hold interest in nearly any topic through hours of good conversation. With intelligence to spare, his breadth of knowledge was quite remarkable. He was an amazing brother.

The tragedy of Jared Badger, perhaps wasn’t a tragedy at all. He brought his joy and intelligence to all whom he interacted with...to me that sounds like an intelligent comedy with a great adventures, all along the way.

I’ll miss creating new conversations,
I’ll miss traveling with you to new places.
I’ll miss a lot of things,
...but most of all, I'll be thankful that I met someone as great as Jared.

So riddle me this, one last conversation: What if you maintain a whole network of personas…living in alternate universes...but all reporting back to the boss...who just happened to be you. What if that in these parallel and alternate universes, when you passed on, you reported back to you. Your reincarnation growing horizontally rather than vertically, meanwhile multiplying exponentially. The flawed hierarchal approach turns out to be limited to just one person; that person being you. The power of living in simultaneous states of existence would grow your spirit strong. And when you reported back to the spirit of you, your spirit welcomed you and sat down to talk. So tell me this: With this set of conditions…... What question would you ask you?

Dear friends and family who are not bewildered and hopefully smiling by now,
Lets not forget, Jared Badger just lived a legendary life. I will miss him dearly, but know that his spirit lives on, and is stronger because of his incredible journey.

Thank you all for your support. The outpouring of kindness has been touching.

Love,
Ryan