Remembering a dear friend and an even better human being.
I am not really good at this kind of thing, but I at least have to try. I know a lot of you know who Andy Isaac is. The man’s sense of humor and sheer love of life was infectious, and those qualities are a few of the many reasons so many people gravitated to him.
On top of making us all laugh on social media, he was caring, empathetic, and extremely emotionally intelligent. Always checking in with us, seeing how jobs were going, seeing if we wanted to go eat a burger or a shawarma. It’s like he had a sense for those of us who were maybe a bit damaged, or had demons that we would be fighting forever.
Myself and a few of my best friends became really close with Isaac over the years, and he never shied away from having tough conversations with us. Whether it was discussing some past trauma, working through missing loved ones, anything—it was never too heavy for him. And to be honest, I always found that extraordinary.
It’s not like he didn’t already have a lot going on. Even just over the last few years, he was always in some sort of treatment. Clinical trials, setbacks—he was always dealing with something, but he never let it beat him down. He had several super powers, and remaining positive despite it all was certainly one of them.
Even on Twitter, myself and others would complain when we were together about how terrible social media had become. He would consistently say, “Guys, social media is what you make it.” So when he would start those, “Tell me something positive” threads on Twitter, you know where that thought process was coming from.
During one of our recent visits while he was in home hospice, we were talking and somehow my dogs came up. Both were getting very old, each with their own health issues. I told Isaac about them, and immediately his eyes welled up with tears.
Here was this human, going on 20 years of fighting off cancer, knowing he didn’t have much more time on earth—and he was sitting there crying over my dogs.
But that was Isaac. He had love for everyone. Including Onslow, my beagle-mix that I found shivering and skinny as a rail on the side of Route 11 one cold, January morning in Onslow County, North Carolina. By the looks of his malnourished body, my boy had a rough go of it prior to me finding him.
I scooped him up that day in 2016, and he was with me as I got out of the military and moved home. Isaac would come over to watch Detroit Lions games, kick it in the backyard, and of course, eat in the city. And each time he would come over, Onslow would immediately make a beeline for him, waiting for pets and—hopefully—some food from the Faturday King. Animals always know the genuine souls.
Unfortunately, similar to his pal Isaac, Onslow was also dealing with cancer of his own, and he passed away last Thursday morning. Exactly one week before Isaac left us.
I could go on and on about Isaac, but to keep it simple—he was one of the best and most genuine people I have ever met, and I am proud to call him a friend. The picture above was taken when the Lions beat the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round of the 2023 NFL playoffs . I’ll always be grateful to Sweta for convincing him that he needed to be there.
I love you, brother. I hope you and Onslow are kicking it now, eating burgers and watching this Detroit Pistons playoff push. Give Ons a piece of burger and tell him I miss him. I’ll see you both again one day.
(And I will try my best to be nicer on Twitter in the meantime.)