Why Alex is Jesus

1. He had the beard and the long hair.
2. Twelve guys follow him around all the time.
3. He can turn water into wine.
4. He’s always there to listen even if its hours of babble.
5. He brought that one guy back from the dead that one time.
6. He hangs out with drunks and prostitutes.
7. Sometimes he rides into town on a donkey.
8. He tells stories that sometimes don’t make sense to most people until you think about it for a while.
9. He can make a lot of food out of not that much.
10. He draws a pretty big crowd.

Okay I first met Alex at a thanksgiving dinner and then a few weeks later at midnight basketball (through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship). But my fondest memory and the beginning of our friendship began months later. I was in downtown Raleigh at First Friday with some friends when this guy yelled my name, came up to me and gave me a huge hug. It took me a minute to realize it was Alex because he looked so much like Jesus. Alex became a great friend since that day—always willing to listen to me vent, always encouraging and always kept me laughing. Thanks for being there. Have a great Birthday!

P.S. Are you Jesus?

- posted by September Pinckney

During dinner Alex entertained us with stories–like when he almost drowned Dan when he took him out for a speedboat ride into rough water in Charleston Harbor! (Terrifying for a grandma to hear). After all of us were stuffed from the delicious meal, Alex asked if he could have the huge drumstick!

He has a stomach like a bottomless pit!

In every photo I’ve seen he looks different—suave and debonair with his “widow’s peak” hair; like a pirate, handsome and dashing with his white teeth and big smile;

posing with friends with all kinds of expressions.

He’s very much as ease with everyone—and uninhibited. Alex is unforgettable.

I’ve heard him being teased about what NOT to name his children—Lee, Leo, or Lilly Liollio!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!

- posted by Barb Crangle (Dan Barnes’ Grandma)