Memorial for Brian von KleinSmid

A place to recall & share all the good times

Brian Piles

For those who know me well it doesn’t come as a surprise that I am mildly OCD.  I like everything to have a place and for it to be in that place.  Brian didn’t feel the same way, he would rarely put things in the same place twice and had a tendency to leave stuff…

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Calm in the Storm

I wish I could say I remember exactly the first time I met Brian…but this gypsy’s memory ain’t what it used to be and it seems like he was always there.  One thing I do remember, though, is a sense of calm in him.  I was just watching the slow, steady, snowfall through the window today, and…

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One Fine Fellow

Brian was friend and a man I personally admired in many ways. Having had the pleasure of working with him for several years now I can honesty say he was a dedicated employee, an individual who valued the worth of being on time, a tireless worker bee and a just plain good guy. There is…

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At the Races

It’s not going to be the same going to whichever race we happen to get tickets for. That is usually the NASCAR race, or recently the Indy Car race at AAA Speedway in Fontana (Fontucky as Brian accurately put it). We had vague plans to attend some of the sillyness at Irwindale, too. Our tickets…

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The Origins of Project FrankenPinto

This little car that has become such a huge part of our lives, and will continue to do so to help us remember Brian, was originally a joke. Brian’s joke. We both already had begun our subscriptions to Grassroots Motorsports and had learned to share our love of cars. Brian had already pushed me further…

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What The Hell Is That? Expansion

Expanding upon Brett’s posting regarding Brian’s musical choices. He took a perverse pleasure in “causing bonk” to fellow faire folk with the setup & teardown sound tracks. He oftern gave me previews of his newfound gems. I don’t know where he found many of them, but I know it came from many a late night…

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Too much to post here…

There is so much to say about Brian. He was an amazing person with a huge personality and a wry sense of humor. Recently, when my family moved, he offered to help us. And he did. He always reached out and helped those he loved. And we all love him for it. He never doubted…

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Brian and the Tribe

It’s all Sandy’s fault. After we completed production on her student-film-that-really-wasn’t “The Faire Nerd”, Sandy’s ambitions led her to Solvang to produce a new Renaissance festival and bring something unexpected to the Scandinavian tourist trap. She somehow met up with Brian, who was introduced to me whilst he was busy organizing festival participants  and trying…

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What the Hell is That?

One thing that I will always remember about Brian is his, well I won’t say “good”..um, eclectic? Yes, eclectic taste in music. Usually at the end of fair, blasting out of his truck’s speakers as we tore down the camp and prepped for the long slog home. There were many times I stopped packing and…

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Big Drummer Man

Most of my time with Brian was spent dancing or processing to his drumbeats, either without or with children hanging on his neck or arm.  One thing I always appreciated about him was his insistent smile and eye contact, both of which assured me in unspoken messages that I was a desirable woman at 50-60-70-whatever…

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