311

In 1984, a baby boy was adopted from India to a family in Ohio. This boy was the youngest of four, with two older sisters also adopted from India and an older brother born to their parents. He grew up beloved by his family as it grew. He became an uncle at 15, when his brother became a father at 29. He became a Spanish teacher after graduating from Ohio University, teaching Spanish to kids of all ages.

As an adult, he moved to Texas, but tragedy stuck when he contracted H1N1 in 2009. Over the years, he lived in both Texas and Ohio, contracting pneumonia twice. During this time, he gained a favorite band; 311. His family also grew, with his brother having a daughter shortly after his son, and his sister having a son and two daughters. His brother moved to Florida in 2009 while his other sister moved into a house of her own with help for her mental handicap as well as others like her.

The young man was a smoker, something most of his family did not agree with, but he was beloved all the same. He was the kind of teacher that would make sure his students had everything that they needed, whether it was emotional or physical enrichment. Although he bounced from job to job, his students always loved him.

In July of 2015, tragedy struck again. The lasting effects of H1N1 led to this young man’s death. He was 31 years old. The entire family came together for the funeral. Even though it was a tragic time, family members still look back and laugh at some of the things that happened. For some reason, everyone brought ham to his parents. Ham was all that everyone ate for an entire week, no one could eat it again until Christmas!

On his older brother’s drive back to Florida, something miraculous happened. A 311 song began to play as the small family was passing Ohio University. This would be one of many 311 sightings by the family. The older brother’s wife made a quilt from the t-shirts and Ohio University blanket that he had left behind, getting 311 to agree to send a tour shirt. Later, when 311 made an album cover entirely of fan pictures, the young man’s picture was included. 311 became a number that the family looked to for comfort, hope, or whatever else they may have needed.

While at college, one family member saw that 311’s “Love Song” was playing at 1:13pm. Her mother, the brother’s wife, was called at 3:11pm about an incredible job opportunity that she eventually got. Three hundred and eleven became a symbol for this family, a reminder of the member who died too young, too soon. They tell each other when they catch the time being 3:11 or see that they have 311 miles left on their gas tank.

311 is no longer a number for them, no longer a band. It is a representation of the young man who was taken from them far too soon, at the mercy of a disease he’d contracted and recovered from years before. It is hope, it is a reminder that everything will be alright when things are going wrong. It is telling them that the young man is still there for them, even in death.