Mark Daniel Kubik is my brother. He was born to this earth on March 26th, 1986 to proud parents Dan & Pat Kubik in Waterloo, IA. I remember as a baby, Dan would push him and I down the hallway in a laundry basket. He was born with a club foot, so his cast would always make such a racket coming down the steps.
He loved doing gymnastics. As a young boy, he would always finish 1st or 2nd in his age group. He was so impressive with his flips and roundoffs as he flew down the runway.
He was naturally quiet and sensitive. His artwork really speaks to his talent. I know that if he had stayed alive, he would have created wonderful content.
When I ran for office for the first time, he gave me $1,500 with no questions asked. I wish I could have utilized his skill set more efficiently, but there were lots of structural failures that came up during my run for US House of Representatives in 2004.
When he died, I was homeless in Minnesota and no one in my family was able to reach me. I heard the news after spending a week being homeless in Chicago. It was a tough time, but I couldn’t bring myself to go home until it started to get colder at night. I couldn’t bear the thought of being homeless in Minnesota during the winter.
Mark came to visit me in 2006 at my apartment in Burnsville, MN. I had just started dating my ex-wife, and she and I were laying in bed under the covers. His energy came into the bedroom and he told me he finally fit in. He said he had no use for the money I had given him, because they don’t use money where he’s at.
My whole left side was cold as he told me to tell my ex-wife the phrase “Red Cherries”. He insisted I do this. As she was getting ready to leave, a cop car drove into the parking lot with its lights ablaze. The cops were on the tail of a murder suspect, and I believe Mark’s actions saved her life that night. For that, I will always be honored to call him my brother.