Mom. Momma. Mommy. Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Hugs. Kisses to make an "owie" all better. Taught me, what, 40-50% of everything I will ever know in this life? Maybe one of two people who would be willing to take a bullet for me (the other being my dad, of course).
I was the golden child. I was the receptacle of all her hopes and dreams. Older brother hadn't quite made it, so it was up to me. And I relished the role. I grew to love report card day. I would take it home and proudly share it with my folks and just bask in their approval.
I should probably say a word or two about older brother at this point. He was the smart one. I was in the sub-genius category, and he was in the category above that. Only he didn't apply himself in school, bringing home report cards with D's on them at times. And he didn't apply himself in college. As he approached the first semester finals in his sophomore year, realizing he was probably going to flunk out, he took off. We had no idea where he was for several weeks. Then we finally got a phone call from California. He was out there selling encyclopedias (and doing very well at it). How could a guy that smart not do well in school? I wasn't there, so I couldn't say exactly, but I'm thinking that when he wasn't stoned he was probably drunk, unless or course he was drunk and stoned. That's probably a little bit of an exaggeration, but maybe not all that much.
It wasn't until much later in life that I began to realize what a pivotal role this guy played in my life. You have to go way, way back. He as my big brother. What I didn't ask mom to explain, I asked him. How many thousands of questions? Then, when he started having a hard time in school, I discovered an entire identify by differentiating myself from him by being the good son. Didn't mean to do it to show him up or anything. Really, as clearly as I remember it, I was just trying to cheer up mom and dad; I wasn't really trying to show him up or anything.
But this is what I think. I think that when you are that smart, it takes longer to grow up because you have more inside you that needs to grow up. And if someone doesn't realize pretty early on how bored you are at the regular pace of instruction in the normal classes and get you out of there, then you are likely to go off the rails. Thoroughbreds are made to run. You can attach one to a plow and you can actually make it plow, but it won't plow very well. And it will never be happy. And you will never be happy with it.
Like I said earlier, the dude has a mater's degree now. He lives in Japan and is married to a woman how is almost, but not quite, as amazing as my wife. You know what I think? I think it's easier for him to live over there because learning a very, very different culture and an almost impossible language give him just about enough to keep his brain comfortably busy. That's my big brother.
You know, if he would just get on board with the whole Jesus thing and stop reading and believing the New York times, he'd be just about perfect!
To be continued . . .
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