The Older Brother... And Family.

As I mentioned in the last couple of posts,  I spent some time with my Brother in Michigan.  It was a nice visit, and on the last days, we went digging through some pictures he had stored up in his "House of Clutter".  I was specifically looking for a picture of my Dad, because one of our cousins wanted it for a family reunion. scrapbook. ( Or something like that.)   Having virtually nothing of my own,  I figured my brother (The Pack Rat.) would have something worth sending.   

And he did!  (Occasionally, being a pack rat is a good thing...  I will admit it.) 

I did not open all of the bins,  but we opened one and found a bit of a "Nostalgia Treasure Trove."  And that inspired me to actually blog about him!  My Brother.  

Us with the Grandparents.

Eric is older than me.   And being the oldest, he was always the one who would be the first to try everything!  First to make friends, First to ride a bike,  First to ride a motorcycle!  First to play sports!   

Us with Dad. Terrible Fashion!

It makes sense.   He was the first one to have the opportunity in most of those cases as we grew up.   And he was pretty good at pretty much everything he attempted.  Sure,  he had his share of Accidents and failures, but he had a "First Born" determination that I think I lacked in several areas of my personality.  It could also be that I broke my back at an early age ( Three Vertebra!  Three months in the Hospital when I was 7 years old!)  and that might have made me a little more cautious.    I also broke my arm and foot growing up.   

Eric and I with Mom and Dad and our Pup.

Eric, however,   never broke a bone!  ( While we were kids, anyway...)  He would fall off a cliff and get back up.   He would jump a fire naked and not get burned!  He would wipe out on the minibike and get back up, dust himself off, and climb back on!  Never got hurt in wrestling or football!   Talk about blessed by the gods!  (A Greek reference to demigods from Mt. Olympus...) Or just Dumb Luck! 

And he was athletic!   He played in every sport in High School.   Football in the Fall,   Wrestling in the Winter, and Track in the Spring.    

And he was GOOD!   All-State in Wrestling.   Consistently placing in the top three in Shot-put and Discus....And was on the All-State Football Dream Team.  

He was Smart!   He routinely made the Dean's List for Academic Achievement.  (Which made you eligible for sports AND one less study hall each quarter.) 

Did I mention we took STATE in Football his Senior Year?    

Kind of a big deal....   We played in the Pontiac Silver Dome!  ( Like the Metro-dome in Minneapolis.)  It was a once in a life time experience!   And my brother made the front page of every newspaper that reported it.  

Like me,  he attempted to go into the Ministry, almost graduating from Northwestern.    Unlike me,  he decided that this was not his path, and moved on before graduation.  ( I got the diploma... then moved on.)  He joined the Union and accidentally found himself in the UAW!   Not a bad place to be, as far as "Earning Potential" goes. (GM workers make a LOT of money. 

Those are the highlights.   But there are some low points as well.   He got divorced and lost his job in Flint, Mi when they closed the factory.   That one-two punch pushed him into bankruptcy.  And there was a motorcycle accident that took him some time to bounce back from.   And, like Mom,  he suffers from Health problems and weight issues.

But he managed to "land on his feet" and move to Tennessee to work at the Corvette Plant.  He remarried and retired before the age of 55!   He is currently living in Michigan,  rebuilding up our old hunting property in Kalova.  

Now you might be thinking that sounds like a pretty good life.  And it is!  But, ironically,  there are a number of reasons why I am content  not following his path and being second born.  

One of the perks is that I could watch Eric as he attempted new things.  ( Heck!  Everything was new back then....)  And I could make adjustments as I watched him do those things.  As a result,  I never really participated in sports.   I waited to get my Driver's License.   I even waited until I was older to get married!  ( And no kids!)  Having an older sibling is an advantage to those who come after, because they can observe how things work out for the older brother/sister and make decisions based on the results.  Unlike all of the Hollywood Movies or Novels about sibling rivalry, ( Which I'm sure there are plenty of examples in real life too)  I chose to use my brother as a resource for choosing a life path.   Perhaps it was not always the best way, but at least it was a reference point. 

But, at a certain point,  we split up and went in directions that were polar opposites.    He got the house, the wife, the family, the kids, the career,  and the dog.   I got a wife, an apartment, and a cat.   I have never had a career.   Just a number of gigs, business opportunities, and part time jobs.  Hardly a model to follow.    As I write this,   I don't even have those things! 

But I still have a brother.   And,  with all of his faults,   He is a blessing from God.  For he has helped me in some of my darkest hours with nothing more than a phone call.   And he has also shown me plenty of "what NOT to do" examples.  He states that I have done the same for him,  But I doubt he knows all of the ways he has helped me.   Because many of those examples are intangible. 

So... While I have the pictures available... I figured I would add him to the blog.   Normally, I beat up on him and make fun of him or the things he has done.  ( There are so many stories that I'm sure I have cataloged before on Facebook,  or on previous blog posts.) Each link is a story.  And there certainly is a little "payback" for all those times he beat me up when I was little... and half his size!  ( I think I still am!)   See!  Another burn...   

But seriously,  we are still brothers.   And continue to chat with each other and reminisce over old stories from the past.  ( He always seems to remember them wrong....)  He is the only family I have left that is not a cousin or some in-law of some type.  So I should try to make an effort to enjoy his company for as long as I have left.   And make every second count.