55 years ago, on February 20, 1970, my 3-year-old baby brother Allen Miller was critically injured in a single car accident. He would pass away six months later.
His death affected me in so many ways. At the time, my six-year-old brain couldn’t understand or rationalize the finality of death. Even today, I’m still struggling with what may someday be my final moments on this earth, whether that’s tomorrow or twenty years from now.
So I’ve personally designated February 20 of each year as Allen’s Day. A day of reflection and internal study. A day of charity and of compassion. A day of forgiveness and of restitution.
Because we only get one spin on this ride called Earth, and we have to make the most of every second. This is important. It must not be ignored.
In the past, I’ve used Allen’s Day as a time to reflect on where I am in the world. Where I am emotionally. The many moments of struggle, balanced against the few moments of triumph. The times when I was an idiotic knucklehead, balanced against those instances when I actually got things right.
Allen’s Day can be as big or as small as you want. You can volunteer at a charity. You can donate money to a cause. You can honor someone whose moments were taken too quickly. And you can encourage someone to make that additional step towards the finish line.
In other words … Allen’s Day should be a time of positivity in this crazy world of negativity. It’s courage in the face of fear. It’s sincerity in the field of fickleness.
And yes, I have some personal plans on February 20. And if you have some plans for your own specific Allen’s Day, I hope your plans are successful.
Because Allen deserved a full life. As do we all.
And if he’s not here to help make the world a better place …
We have to do it in his stead.
Chuck The Writer 
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