Cabbagetown Bids Brandon Sutton Farewell

Inevitably, it happens. It happens to all of us. In one shape or another. People move on, depart, separate, fade away or simply decide to live just out of reach of a good firm handshake or hug.

That time has come for our good friend Brandon Sutton. He has decided to write his next chapter from a new latitude and longitude, while selfishly, many of us want Brandon to keep writing his book here in Cabbagetown.

We will always remember Brandon’s ability to enjoy and contribute to the fabric of our existence. To make better, what we see, feel, taste, touch and hear.

To simultaneously live from the mind and heart. To cherish. To make the hard decisions. To throw caution to the wind and trust that IF you leap, the net WILL appear.

Tom Deardorff, Brandon’s downstairs neighbor
It was our first full summer living in The Stacks. Lyn and I had already become friends with Brandon. We shared a number of meals and then one weekend, he said:”Let’s cook out on the patio”.

I reminded him that there was no grill and he said: “I know. So let’s go get one and make it the ‘community grill’”. And that’s what we did.

Brandon and I shared a couple of beers while we put the grill together. That evening, here came Brandon with a big tray of grass-fed burgers, a big package of buns and all the fixin’s. WE had emailed and phoned some other folks and before long we had a crowd.

That first (of many) cookout stands out among the many great memories I have of my friendship with Brandon. I’ll miss him but I’m also happy to see him moving on to new life adventures.

Barb Keeney Harper, Milltown Tavern
Brandon, Love your big smile as you are driving in your beautiful Mercedes. Thanks for always stopping and checking in with me. I’m going miss you. Your inspiring leadership will take you to new heights as well as those who decide to follow you.

Jack Sobel, Agave Restaurant
Brandon has become like a true brother to me. He is someone I can vent to, argue with, confide in and get a true, matter of fact opinion from, on pretty much anything and everything.

A recent event will stick with me for a while…Brandon called me up after just getting released from custody in Washington, D.C. after a peaceful protest. He told me he kept singing the words to one of my new songs, Blue Always, over and over.

He told me this helped him through some of the more traumatic times of the day and brought some peace into the entire equation. I will forever remember this call from D.C. which made me both proud of him and thankful for his support along the way.

John Cugasi, culinary and camping compadre
St. Brandon the Fastidious…
I went camping with Brandon in SE Tennessee by the Hiwassee River. We found a camping spot not far from the river but in the middle of a field. We had to make due as all the traditional sites were taken.

When we went to make a fire we couldn’t find a fire ring so we had to walk out by the river trails to find large stones – Brandon single handedly did this task.

The funny part is when we went to take down camp he insisted on dismantling the fire ring. I said ok and started to help him return the rocks to the perimeter of the field.

He kept insisting that I not help and after a few attempts I asked why and he said that since he got the stones only he knew the exact place that they had to be returned to! Bear in mind we were in a huge wilderness area.

As we all know Brandon is naturally disturbed by messiness and has very high standards for all of his surroundings. He certainly expected The Stacks area to be well maintained and tasteful.

Case in point is the early days of the elevator flooring in H Bldg. Brandon invest a lot of time consulting experts and sourcing materials. The Stacks went an alternate route and purchased awful flooring and topped it with a dark mat which collected dirt among other things.

This became a daily pit peeve with Brandon. So much so that it prompted me to write – We’re so Sorry Mr. Otis. – A Stacks rant recited in the cadence of “Twas a night before Christmas” with a refrain sung to the melody of “We’re So Sorry Uncle Albert”. It was printed on brown matte paper and dedicated to Brandon.

Terrell Clark, javanista and friend
Brandon and I have shared some wonderful times around The Stacks but the moments that stand out in both my short and long-term memories center around coffee consumption. Several days of the week I would receive a text, email or both indicating that the coffee in the french press was “brewing”.

I’m sure that between the two of us we have consumed hundreds of gallons of freshly brewed and french-pressed coffee. Without a doubt, together we have affected the price index of this global commodity. Talking about a coffee fix!! Brandon sure knows how to serve one up.

I will greatly miss those mornings of coffee drinking and conversing on everything from politics to diesel Mercedes. I’m for certain that we have had many “altered” states of minds due to the copious amounts of coffee coursing thru our systems. Brandon, continue to brew well, consume well and be that wonderful individual that you are.

Edie Morton, friend and confidante
Fantastical times with Brandon… His loft – the “bat cave” where we celebrated with food and wine, many “how to contribute towards a more compassionate peaceful world” conversations, laughs and tears, flying around the bat-cave with catnip. Cabbagetown Christmas Crawls, Cabbagetown Stomps, and the famous road trip to Avalon – Athens in search of “the tree that owns itself”, the Georgia Guidestones, and the tent at Avalon with Genie- Heeesterical! I LOVE BRANDON xo.

Lyn Deardorff, friend and downstairs neighbor
I remember the moment I met Brandon five years ago. We were both riding the elevator up to our lofts and he was carrying a Whole Foods bag. That told me mountains about him right from the start.

We found out that we had loft foot prints in common, his being right above ours. He has that magnificent tower, but we have the “stairway to nowhere”.

So I could talk for days about our work together on various projects such as the Loft Tour each year, the Architectural Controls committee for The Stacks, the Advisory Council, his help creating my website and marketing efforts for my new venture, the spontaneous dinners on the roof deck, late breakfast at Parish, the coffee catch-ups in early morning.

However, a special one for me is not about a “project” but the time he and I cooked dinner for a few friends in his gourmet kitchen.

He taught me how to make jalapeno poppers and I shared my cranberry chutney pork roast recipe with him. We drank wine, talked a lot, greeted good friends, and had an amazing evening. Such joy you have brought to my life, my friend. I know we’ll have more down the road.