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If Edward Waites hadn\u2019t traveled to Lake Tahoe in December just in time for a massive snowstorm, he would never have been interviewed by the local news \u2014 a 4-second appearance that was just enough time for his long-lost brother, Randy Waites, to spot him.<\/p>
Randy, 55, lives in Lodi, California, and while watching KCRA Channel 3 in December, he paused the program when he saw Edward\u2019s last name. He wondered if there was a family connection, and his daughter, Cambria, said she thought they looked alike. She started searching for information on Edward Waites online, and in 20 minutes, she dropped a bombshell on her dad: they shared a father, Donald E. Waites.<\/p>
\u201cI had to pick my jaw up off the floor,\u201d Randy told The Washington Post. Just a few months after Randy\u2019s 1966 birth, his father left him and his mother, and Randy never saw him again or learned anything else about his family.<\/p>
In early January, Randy\u2019s younger half-sister called Edward, 54, at his home in Anaheim, California. Like Randy, he was stunned to learn he had a brother, and after getting to know each other on the phone, they met in person earlier this month at Randy\u2019s home. Edward told the Post he \u201calways wanted an older brother,\u201d and Randy said that during their first meeting, it \u201cseemed so natural, I felt like I\u2019d known him my whole life. We clicked immediately.\u201d They discovered they both drive Harley-Davidson motorcycles and enjoy fishing, and work in similar fields.<\/p>
Randy said he knew he was loved as a child, but it was still \u201chard to grow up as a boy without a dad.\u201d As an adult, he added, he \u201cquit worrying about not having a dad and decided to live my own happy life.\u201d Donald Waites died in 2009, and Edward said he was \u201cmy hero and was always there for me, so it was hard to learn what Randy had missed.\u201d He told Randy he\u2019d like to apologize on behalf of their father, but as Randy explained to the Post, he doesn\u2019t \u201cblame anyone \u2014 I\u2019m beyond that now. I\u2019ve waited my whole life to know someone like Ed. I just want to be the best brother I can be. And I know he wants to do the same for me.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t