Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler! (Let the good times roll!)
Bradley James Callaghan, BJ to his closest friends, was born on June 5, 1986 in Anaheim, California to his parents, Daniel and Samantha Callaghan. Bradley was also the oldest of two, having a twin brother named Aiden James. Samantha had worked at Disneyland for the longest time, the Disneyland Hotel to be exact, as one of the hotel managers while Daniel was a screenwriter, having written quite a bunch of box office hits and award winning movies. By the time Bradley and Aiden were born, Samantha had to take time off of work to care for her newborn sons. They had a house about twenty minutes away from Disneyland so it wouldn't be a hassle for Samantha to spend hours on the freeway to go to work. Throughout Bradley's childhood, the majority of the movies or cartoons he watched were Disney related, thrown in with a few cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones and he would always be around Aiden. Bradley was a playful child, always seen with a smile on his face, rarely with a frown or scowl, and had a way to brighten his parents' day if it went bad. He was never a hassle for his parents, which was a relief for them both. There was never a dull moment without Bradley squealing with delight and smiling up at his parents while hanging out with his twin. He was close to his grandparents, especially his grandfather whom he would always be seen asleep against him during the afternoon. Whenever his parents were busy, they would drop Aiden and Bradley off at their grandparents to spend the day with them. Bradley was never seen without being in his grandfather's arms. Their grandmother spoiled the twins like crazy and it continued on until they were in their late teens to early twenties. They didn't care. They were happy that they had family around to be there for them. Bradley enjoyed being a little kid because he and Aiden shared the attention. No one was favored more than the other. They didn't have to fight for the attention, which was good for the parents because they weren't looking forward for anyone crying or screaming because one was being attended to more. At least they showed how a family works.
Childhood appeared to be spontaneous and exciting for the little toddler. Bradley learned to walk and talk all by the age of three and Aiden soon followed afterwards. On record, Bradley's first word was dog because they had a family dog named Sparky that Bradley adored from the moment the two met. His parents took him to Disneyland every month and to Bradley, each visit was more memorable than the previous one. Everything appeared to be fine in the Callaghan family up until the twins reached the stage where they would get possessive of their things and start fighting with each other. Daniel couldn't count how man times he had to break up the fights the twins were having, trying to talk to them on what was going on. Half the time it was over which boy had which toy or that one wanted to watch a movie the other didn't. Samantha never liked coming home to the two fighting or hearing screams piercing in the air and echoing around the house. Bradley wasn't the one to cause the fights. It was Aiden, who would always come off as the victim to pin it on his twin. Poor Bradley had no idea this was happening to him because he always trusted his brother. By the time Bradley and Aiden turned "lucky seven" as Daniel called it, both boys started to get along with each other. The two of them grew closer and closer by the minute, not doing anything with each other or going anywhere without one another. Traditions were big in the Callaghan family. Being both Irish and Cajun, they celebrated all the holidays.
Bradley was nervous and terrified to start elementary school. Pre-school and kindergarten didn't seem all that bad but this was a new school he was going to. He might not see his old classmates he grew up with. The only thing was that Samantha and Daniel had moved the entire family to a new location: New Orleans, Louisana. Samantha quit her job at the Disneyland Hotel to go work at the Hotel Maison De Ville because she received a job offer from an old colleague. Bradley and Aiden had to face elementary school in an entirely new state, city, and atmosphere. The first day was horrible for Bradley. He was very shy and would often hide his face in his jacket. Aiden, on the other hand, was the hyperactive friendly boy. Bradley soon started to make friends with the kids in his class, bonding over television shows, toys and video games. All through elementary school, he had that boyish smile, charisma and personality. Both he and Aiden were class clowns during their stay and it made every student and teacher laugh. It was the same way in high school as well. Together, even though they had different personality, they bonded like glue and became protective of one another. They joined sports - track, baseball and basketball at one point, joined the same clubs and had a number of the same classes throughout their four year stay in high school. Bradley graduated high school with a scholarship to The University of New Orleans.
The biggest turnaround in Bradley's life was when both he and Aiden were involved in a car crash in downtown New Orleans near the French Market. Both were seventeen at the time, a few weeks shy of their graduation. Bradley was the one behind the wheel with Aiden in the passenger seat. They legally had the right of way to go because they had a green light but a car ran a red light and collided into the passenger side. The car crashed into a lamppost against the driver's side, leaving both boys trapped. Paramedics and fire fighters had to use the jaws of life to free both boys, both of them unconscious as they were transported to the hospital. Bradley managed to escape with a broken leg, a couple broken ribs, minor head trauma and a few broken fingers. Aiden, on the other hand, wound up in a coma for about a week and when he woke up, he had to go through months of physical therapy to regain his composure. It was a hard time for both brothers but they managed to heal and help each other through the months they had to suffer. Bradley managed to get the cast off his leg in less than six months, bravely showing his battle wounds at graduation to a cheering crowd. Both he and Aiden managed to cross stage together to receive their diplomas and received a standing ovation from their graduating class for their bravery. It was an overwhelming sight but they were glad they had support from everyone.
Bradley had left his parents' home that same summer and moved to an apartment with Aiden nearby to attend college. He didn't know whether to become either a film or music major. He had trouble picking which one so he let it come to him. In the end after much consideration, he decided to major in film and have music as a minor. Bradley wanted to be either a screenwriter, producer or director. He couldn't make up his mind so he tried taking classes on all three to see which would fit him best. He decided on going with producing and directing, thinking about trying screenwriting sometime in the near future. During his time in UNO, he produced and directed a few independent films as assignments and was never seen without a video camera at school. He became one of the top students in the class and hoped that in the future he would go on to direct Hollywood films but he took it all slow. Bradley was never one to rush. To help pay for the rent and bills, he took up a job at Café du Monde as a barista and cashier while Aiden worked at The Napoleon House. He still attends UNO, hoping to graduate this year to receive his AA degree. He wouldn't let his dreams come crashing down for any means necessary.
