Happy Birthday Big Brother

I know you were already 16 years old when I was born….and I’m sure the thought of another kid around the house must have been annoying...especially another girl.  There were always chores….and looking after the little ones while Mama went to milk the cow was on the daily list.  This couldn’t have been fun for someone that was already noticing girls and looking for a set of wheels to take you where you wanted to go.  I was frequently told the story of when you were left to watch us while Mama took care of outside chores.  You watched me, not yet 2 years old, as I exited the screen door, toddled out the driveway, and started up the road to visit Aunt Mattie.  Sneaking closely behind, you allowed me to feel some freedom before guiding me back home.  

Probably one of the most vivid memories I have of you was how much you loved pulling pranks….. and picking at little children.  The little buzzer you held in your hand and touched our shoulder while you had our attention  focused on a rubber  worm in your other hand, the rabbit  in a box that had escaped ...but not before leaving a little gift, the spider pin that looked like the real thing.., and your bottle of Apple Blossom perfume that smelled like the worst thing you could imagine...times 10…. were only a few of the props you used to get a rise out of someone….and laughed heartily at their reactions.   Your tattoos were often a part of your ploy to pick.  The birds and Stinky the skunk were well known to all the little children.  And I even heard about a squirrel on your back that no one ever saw.  There was also a story that you once told a little fellow that your beard was actually what was left of a horse’s tail….you had just eaten the horse.   

That first set of wheels you got didn’t last too long.  Somewhere you got your hands on a second hand bicycle and took Dale, just a youngster of 6 or 7 years, for a ride down a long gravel road.  The wreck didn’t break any bones but it surely did hurt your feelings…..and Dale’s head...and totaled your bike. I remember another time someone stopped by our house riding a horse.  You lifted me up onto the horse with you and made it gallop….100 miles per hour….around the front yard….laughing at all my blood curdling screams.  Then came the jeep.  For some reason, roads were not important for you to get where you wanted to go.  Driving through fields and bushes gave you a high.  On one occasion, you loaded your sisters and took us on one of your off-the-beaten path rides.  You ran over bushes and saplings like they were twigs...and again laughing at the fright you had stirred among us as we clung on for dear life. First thing when we got home…. I marched in the house and told on you! I told Mama that you had run over all of her peach trees!

Then the morning came when you left for the army.   I remember well how Mama grieved. I was young ...and didn’t have a clue what was going on.  My perception of being in the army was limited to the little bag of plastic soldiers that most kids played with during that era.  My mother watched for the mail daily hoping for a letter,  and was most thrilled when you happened to include a photo of yourself.

An early discharge brought you home, and you soon was on your way to Flint, Michigan to work in the car industry.  Never will I forget the Christmas you sent money home to Mama to buy our presents.  We got a table and chairs, doll, tinker toys and more…..much more than the little plastic case of hair barrettes and head scarf that we usually found under our tree.  

You also sometimes defied the  rules. Mama’s strong christian faith placed some rather rigid guidelines in the home, and we all had to abide.  I remember the day you walked in the front door wearing a pair of light blue bermuda shorts knowing shorts were forbidden especially for us girls. You got that stern look from Mama but you just smiled at her and kept walking.  

You didn’t always follow the rules when it came to hunting either.  Hunting and fishing was truly your sport….open season  didn’t matter.     But you also liked to eat what you killed.  Thanks to you, I have eaten fried squirrel, frog legs, venison, and a few other things I would rather not mention.  You even had a story about frying chicken near John Melton’s Spring that I will not detail either.  

You had a  talent when it came to art and drawing.  A picture of a log cabin in the woods that you drew in school hung on the wall of our living room for years….It was a prized possession of Mama’s. Today, many people have a belt or a purse that you made….or may have tasted some of your homemade wine.  

You were the one that walked me down the aisle the day I got married.  Getting you dressed up in a suit and in a church were both rarities for you.  But you did it for me.

You always had an untamable spirit that loved the outdoors,... people, ...and simple ways of living.   And you sported a smile that was once described as a Million Dollar Smile by one of your teachers.   

You were the first to break the chain of seven siblings.  While we continue to struggle through the healing of our hearts, we want to say Thanks for the memories that continue to make us smile ….and help with that healing process.  Being born on Christmas day made you Mama’s most cherished Christmas gift.  Sure do miss you, Big Brother….and Happy Birthday.