A Bond Thicker Than Blood

Modern Love

The New York Times

Love, New York Times, Nytimes, Essay, Loss, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Redemption, Nyt

4.3 • 9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 December 2022

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Brandon Kyle Goodman never knew his father, but he did know his Uncle Ronnie. Uncle Ronnie was Brandon’s godfather, originally his mom’s college bestie — and essentially, her sibling. Uncle Ronnie owned a hair salon, used words like “fabulous” and “honey” and was “the only person who never questioned my effeminate nature,” Brandon said. But when Brandon became an adult, their relationship changed. Today, Brandon reads his essay about the enduring bond with Uncle Ronnie. Then: Franki Kidd tells us about a stranger she met outside a bodega in Queens who changed her life.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Love now and...
0:04.0	You're falling love, man.
0:05.0	That's not my love.
0:06.0	But stronger than anything.
0:08.0	I feel the love.
0:09.0	And I love you more than anything.
0:12.0	You're too much.
0:15.0	From The New York Times, I'm Anna Martin.
0:17.0	This is Modern Love.
0:19.0	And this week's essay is about a relationship between two people
0:23.0	who aren't technically related, but still their family.
0:27.0	And just like with family, they've got issues.
0:31.0	It's called our bond was thicker than blood,
0:34.0	read by the author Brandon Kyle Goodman.
0:43.0	I was trying to think about the first time I met my godfather.
0:47.0	But that would be like asking me to remember the first time I met my mother.
0:51.0	From the time my brain was able to hold memories,
0:55.0	my uncle Ronnie was there.
0:59.0	He had been my mother's best friend since she was in college.
1:04.0	As a child, I didn't understand the depths of what I was witnessing between him and my mother.
1:11.0	But now at 35, I have a deep appreciation for how special their bond was.
1:18.0	How healing it was.
	...

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