Drink a Beer

This song was chosen for Crystal’s funeral by my twin brother, Josh.

There is something different about hearing a brother choose a song for his sister when none of you ever imagined you would be standing in a funeral home trying to decide what music should accompany photographs of her life.

Luke Bryan’s “Drink a Beer” is simple in the way grief can sometimes be simple. Beneath all of the questions, anger, confusion, records, and everything that came afterward, there is one truth that has never changed:

We miss our sister.

Crystal wasn't only my big sister. She was Dane’s sister. She was Josh’s sister. And each of us had our own relationship with her, our own memories, our own inside jokes, our own disagreements, and ultimately our own way of grieving her.

This was Josh’s way of honoring her.

The photographs in this video capture moments that none of us knew would someday become pieces of a memorial. When those pictures were taken, they were simply life—birthdays, family gatherings, smiles, ordinary days, and moments that probably didn't seem particularly important at the time.

Loss changes that.

Suddenly, the ordinary photographs become priceless. A familiar smile becomes something you stare at a little longer. A memory you hadn't thought about in years becomes one you desperately want to hold onto.

And sometimes you don't need an explanation for any of it.

Sometimes you just wish you could sit somewhere quiet with the person you lost, share a drink, talk about absolutely nothing important, laugh about something stupid, and have one more ordinary moment together.

That's what this song represents to me when I think about Josh choosing it for Crystal.

Throughout this site, you'll learn about the questions surrounding Crystal's death and why our family believes the investigation deserved greater thoroughness. But Watch Crystal's Story exists because I never want those questions to become her entire identity.

Before Crystal became someone whose death we were trying to understand, she was our sister.

Dane had his relationship with her.

Josh had his.

I had mine.

And losing her left a different empty space in each of us.

This video is another piece of the woman behind the records, told through photographs and through a song chosen by one of the brothers who knew her long before anyone knew her name because of the circumstances of her death.

This one is from Josh to his sister.

Because sometimes there aren't enough words.

Sometimes you just miss someone.

And sometimes you would give almost anything for the chance to sit beside them one more time.