The AHA likes to ask: What is your why? Glenn Furlong is my why. Glenn was my best friend. We were pretty much attached at the hip from the moment we met at USF in the Fall of 1987. We were both Catholic and first generation: His family from Ireland and mine from Nicaragua. We just clicked. Of course, we had our differences. He was an East Bay kid which meant he was a Die-Hard Raiders/A’s fan; I grew up on the Peninsula, so I was a Die-Hard 49ers/Giants Fan. But we had great times together. In fact, we (Glenn and I) and others in our group of friends started an ongoing tradition at USF called the Senior Stumble. Unfortunately, on a warm evening in downtown San Francisco, God decided to call Glenn home. We went to a Happy Hour at a local pub. Glenn went to the bathroom. He said he wasn't feeling well and walked to the bathroom holding his hand over his stomach. After several minutes, I noticed people knocking then banging on the bathroom door with no response. The Manager grabbed the keys and there was Glenn unconscious on the floor. It took four of us to get him out of the bathroom and outside. I knew CPR. He had no breathing, no pulse. He was having a heart attack. So, I tried my hardest. The EMT’s arrived. After the first few attempts, they said he wasn’t going to make it. So, I quickly told him, “I love you, I will always love you and I will never forget you.”  At the last minute, an EMT said he felt a faint pulse, so they raced him to SF General. Sadly,  he never made it. He was pronounced on the way to the hospital. I can still hear the screams from his family when they arrived to the hospital. The date was August 20, 1996. Needless to say, I was devastated. Lost. In a haze. I saw Billy Bob Thornton discuss his brother’s death: “I’ve never been the same since my brother died. There’s a melancholy in me that never goes away. I’m 50% happy and 50% sad at any given moment.” I’d like to thank Billy Bob for saying in words how I have felt since that fateful night. But, here I am now, 30 years later, never forgetting our friendship/our brotherhood and...now you know my why. So, in Glenn's honor, I have become an advocate for the AHA. I am humbly asking for any donation you can make to the AHA and our Heart & Stroke Walk. Salud! Sláinte!