It’s Chase’s 40th birthday.

I love you Chase.

posted by Joel Korte

It's another one of those weird nights. Just sitting up and thinking about a lot of stuff. I'm thinking about my brother (of course) tonight, but mostly I find myself thinking about my parents ... especially now that I have 3 boys of my own.

As hard as it was (and still is) that I lost my brother and best friend 15 years ago, I know it's harder on my parents. He was killed by a drunk driver in a just a total random event. I've been to the place where he was hit and killed many times. It's actually a very beautiful place. It's on I40 in California in the middle of the desert, not all that far from Joshua Tree (That's where me and my parents are in this picture here. It's a special place for us because we hiked this area with him a few years before he died).

But the randomness of it is hard to wrap your head around. It's this super straight stretch of interstate in the desert. It was 7pm or something when the drunk driver hit him. Chase was an aspiring actor living in LA and had met with a director in Arizona and was on his way home .... but I know I've written about all this before and especially this past February on the 15th anniversary of his death.

BUT the big thing that wasn't random about all this was that the driver that killed Chase was impaired (more on that in a bit).

And this thought just keeps going on in my brain that it is harder on my parents. I was 23 years old when my brother died ... and if I'm totally honest, I think I was probably headed for an unhappy life. I was about to accept a job that I hated ... stuttering was controlling my life (with no real passion to confront it), and I think I was about to settle in just about every facet in my life. I mean, who knows what would have happened but what I do know what has happened since that horrible day: I started over and pursued things that I deeply cared about and had passion for. I learned how to be a great communicator despite my stuttering. I have built a business that my brother would actually be proud of. I am doing what he was doing, I am following my bliss.

I want to get back to my parents. Some of you might know them for how much they've supported this dream of mine since day 1. Heck, they even did the work on the wooden boxes we shipped pedals in back when we were able to do that. Getting back to this thesis, it's harder on my parents.  For me, it's almost impossible to think about "what would it be like if Chase was alive" because pretty much everything about my life changed when he died. There's no reality in mind where I'd have courage to start this business without having this intense, acute awareness of the fragility of life and how much I felt I was letting my brother down with the life I was living. I don't know, maybe that sounds insane and stupid.

But for my parents, my brother is just ... gone. And to such a random, senseless, preventable, act. Everything is cloaked in that fact no matter what happens.

Where am I going with this? Well, the reason I'm writing this is for both my parents but I'll be honest it's mostly for my dad. My parents have been working with this organization MADD (Mother's Against Drunk Driving) since Chase died. They just want people to stop drinking and driving ... drinking and driving is an incredibly stupid and selfish thing to do because you can literally kill and hurt other people.

I spoke with my dad tonight, and I can just tell in his voice that this is a thing that has given his life purpose and meaning (in a similar way that starting Chase Bliss has for me) ... and I just want to support him and my mom. I know I'm kind of fixating on my dad tonight but the reason is that my mom is super uncomfortable asking anyone for money for anything (something I can very much relate to as well lol ... I love you Mom!!!)

Every 5 years since Chase has died, my dad has put a lot of effort into helping do a fundraiser for MADD, so I want to help him by writing this message to our subscriber list tonight. We will be walking on September 17th, and if you'd like to support us in that walk and give to MADD you can do so by clicking on this link: ACT FOR CHASE.

Thanks for taking the time to read this tonight. And the one thing that is resonating in my head is what my dad told me tonight that one thing we can all do to help avoid tragedies like this to just not drive drunk. You don't have to donate to MADD or any other organization like this, just don't drive impaired.

Love you all, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the support through all these years. I'm going to keep chasing my bliss, wherever it leads me! I love you Chase.

Joel