Brad with his three amazing sons, Keanan, Brennan and Aaron

One of the most influential people in my life would have to be Brad. He first came into my world when I was six years old, a time when there was a lot going on for us. But almost like a TV show, he appeared and suddenly the world started to make sense.

He would become my brother-in-law and give my big sister three amazing sons, along with decades of love and care, until he was called home in 2014. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about something he taught me, or stop myself from doing something I know he told me not to do.

Every so often, I would be sitting watching TV and feel a light smack upside the head. Looking up, I would see Brad grinning at me. “What did I do?” I would ask.

Still smiling, he would reply, “It’s not what you did — it’s what you didn’t do.”

I would breathe a sigh of relief because that meant he hadn’t caught me doing what I actually wasn’t supposed to be doing.

One particular day, he had some deliveries to make and asked if I wanted to go with him. This was always a favourite of mine because it didn’t matter where we were going — it was guaranteed to be a riot.

The place in question was somewhere he had been before, and he needed to stop at another location nearby. We found the first place with ease and figured we would be back home after a very short voyage.

We were mistaken.

Reaching a fork in the road, we stopped to ask for directions. An older gentleman walking with his cow was very polite and assured us the place we were looking for was very close by.

Following his directions, we travelled for what felt like an hour. We hadn’t missed any turns because there weren’t any, apart from the occasional curve in the road.

“How close is close?” I finally asked, beginning to worry we were lost.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Brad replied. “Let’s ask someone else.”

We continued on until we spotted another person. The young man we encountered was equally friendly and helpful.

“Yes, I know the place,” he said. “But eish, it is very far.”

We thanked him and carried on, now more confused than ever. The first man said it was close, the second said it was far. Who was right? More importantly — where were we?

We decided to start asking everyone we saw. Surely someone would know this place and be able to give us proper directions. Yet every answer was some variation of either “close” or “far,” without any actual indication of distance.

After hours of following the directions of countless strangers, both of us exhausted and ready to abandon the quest entirely, we spotted another young man walking along the side of the road. We figured one more attempt couldn’t hurt.

“Eish brothers,” he said after we explained where we were trying to go. “You are on the right road, but you are going the wrong way. You need to turn around.”

He smiled and walked off.

“No!” Brad snapped. “Absolutely not! We have been on this road for three hours. There is NO way I am turning around and going back the way we came. I don’t care — I’m staying on this road and I am NOT turning around!”

More confused than ever, I was still more inclined to trust Brad’s judgement than anyone else we had encountered that day.

So we continued on, steam practically rising from our collars in frustration at the runaround we had received.

Then we saw it.

Not a hundred metres away from our last “guide.”

“Is that it?” I asked, almost unsure whether I was seeing a mirage.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Brad groaned, though there was obvious relief in his voice as we finally pulled up to the building.

He went inside while I got out to stretch my legs.

Minutes later, he returned and we jumped back into the van.

Now we faced our newest dilemma — which way should we go home?

After a few minutes of discussion, we decided not to go back the way we came. Instead, we continued along the road we had arrived on, heading in the same direction and silently hoping this would not become another endless adventure.

Much to both our delight and exasperation, within two minutes we rejoined the highway and were on our way home.

The best part came just before we turned onto the highway. We noticed a map on the roadside highlighting the path we had travelled. The road was one giant circle. If we had gone the other way from the start, we would have reached our destination in minutes.

We laughed about it all the way home.

But to this day, I am grateful we went the wrong way, because even now, that remains one of my favourite memories — simply because it was spent with someone who meant the world to me.