Travis was a special type of person. It is evident, now more than ever, how many lives he impacted with his infectious positivity. One of the most difficult things to swallow is that the one person who deserved his love the most will never have this memory of him - Nahli.

She will not remember how he held her as soon as she was born and how proud he was of it. She will not remember the time he took to dress her in little baby outfits with pink Converse shoes. She will not remember the walks through the rose garden, the camping trips or the goodnight kisses. She won't remember picking strawberries or trick-or-treating in the rain. Most likely as she grows older, even the memories she has of him now will fade.

What she will have are the stories, told by all of us, about what a truly amazing father she had, what a great person he was and how he impacted everyone he met.

Brooke told Travis about an idea she had to put together a book of letters and stories from all his friends so that Nahli would be able to look back and read about him from all of these different perspectives - moments not all of us know about, things that despite my best efforts, I cannot solely provide for her. Travis told Brooke it had to be done. He even used his "stern Travis" face which is quite alarming if you aren't expecting it.

THE DEAR NAHLI PROJECT

We ask that you write a letter to Nahli about Travis. This doesn't have to be a traditional letter - it can be a poem, a story, a picture, whatever you wish. We only ask that it is addressed to Nahli, not Travis, and tells her something about who her father was. It can be about how you met him, a moment you remember with him, your relationship to him or what you may have learned from him. You may attach photos or artwork along with written pieces or choose to submit either independently. It could be an essay, it may be one line. We just ask that we are able to print it.

Most importantly - we want to encourage everyone and anyone to participate. Maybe you met Travis years ago and never stayed in touch - please submit something. Maybe you knew him from work or met him at a wedding - please submit. Maybe you were best friends since grade school and you can name all his high school hook ups - for the love of God, please submit.

It takes a village and luckily one thing Travis was never short on was friends. Our hope is that in collecting this for Nahli, she can look back over the years as see not only how many loved him, but get to know him in the only way that she can - through the stories that are left of him.

Electronic stuff can be sent to dear.nahli.project@gmail.com

Hard materials can be sent to:

Dear Nahli Project

c/o Brooke Johnson

36 Glen St

Melrose, MA 02176

Hard copies of letters or artwork will be scanned in and originals kept for Nahli.

The 'Dear Nahli' Project

Niki & Brooke

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