October 25, 2026
To: Gary Steele, Vancouver, BC
From: Stephen Brown, Atlanta, GA
Dear Gary,
Yesterday, I started to tackle my front yard. Frankly, it’s a disaster. Before I left in the spring, I had laid out a brand-new lawn, covering the old weed-infested mess with a layer of cardboard and then three inches of topsoil. Don’t get me started on Georgia “topsoil”— it’s basically a very fine mulch.
What started out as lush green grass soon showed signs of stress, compounded by excessive heat, a lack of rain and then massive rains. Typical of Georgia.
So, when I finally returned two days ago, I found a complete failure. Now, failure doesn’t set me into a tailspin. I’ve been in the television business for almost 40 years and our failure rate is between 80 and 90%, if not more. Luckily, I’ve become an eternally hopeful person. “Today, we’ll fix this show…even if we have to change the set, change the graphics or change the host.”
Weeds fill the spaces left by stress and neglect and the yard was filled with them. I pulled them up with determination.
While I was raking and trimming, my neighbor Dimitri came over and chatted. We talked about cooking classes and the neighborhood gathering in one of Ansley’s small parks. Later, my other neighbor John stopped by. He was performing at the gathering and wondered if we were going to make it. I assured him we were.
And while I was sweeping up the pine straw and leaves, Silla, Dimitri’s daughter, who had watched the house while I was gone, came over with a freshly baked loaf of banana bread.
Neighborliness is one of the things I love about Atlanta. For years in LA, you and I lived in various apartments and houses. Did you ever really know or speak with your neighbors? I didn’t. Perhaps this neighborliness is a Southern thing. Regardless, I like it.
My brother Chris and I went to the Ansley Park Civic Association event down at McClatchey Park. About 150 people showed up for light barbecue and all the beer or wine you could drink. John’s band played classics from the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin.
It was good to reconnect with neighbors and meet new people. Chris is a 6-foot 6 friendly giant, charming and personable. At one point, I looked over and saw he was engaged with a group of people in a lively conversation.
It was a lovely evening. And after the long drive home from Comfort, it reminded me how much I value the friendships I've made here.
Later that night, I heard some terrible news from the Thousand Islands. A woman had taken her life, jumping from the Thousand Island Bridge.
I don’t know the circumstances of this poor woman’s life, but I do understand suicide. Both my uncle and my father took their own lives. It was devastating. After my dad died, I had thoughts of suicide. I understand, to some extent, that darkness.
And it was community, and the love that came from you and my other friends, that pulled me out of that place.
We all travel around with some darkness, some pain, some disappointment. And we don’t always know what people are going through. Which makes me appreciate small gestures of kindness even more.
A conversation, an invitation, a freshly baked banana bread.
I hope all is well up there. I know the slog and hope you are getting through it.
Stephen