The Early Years (Webb left, me right):
My brother Webb has been in my life since, well the beginning. He's 1 year and 10 days older than me. I've always looked up to him, even when he wasn't so nice to me. If you have seen Wonder Years and witnessed the relationship between Kevin and Wayne Arnold, you will have an idea about how our relationship was growing up. He and I were definitely cut from two different molds. He was always confident and adventurous and I was always pretty much, well, a Momma's boy (which he pointed out any chance he could). Nevertheless, I always wanted to be more like him because he represented strength, fortitude and determination to me, things that I didn't feel I was. And, I think because he teased me so, I didn't really like the Momma's boy that I was. Ironically, over the years I have become more like he was and he has become more like I was. Strange! This would probably be as good a time as any to redeclare to him once again that Leslie Bartuska and Keri Anne Conlon love me more than him, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah!
Charlie:
I will share a short little story that I find kind of humorous. Being the Momma's boy, I was never much of a fighter and Webb knew this about me. I watch my own two young boys and my 7 year old Jonathan is not a fighter either where my 5 year old Nathaniel is much more aggressive like Webb. Jonathan is bigger but Nathaniel pretty much owns him. I was however somewhat clever in my revenge antics. You see Webb had a pet stuffed monkey that he named "Charlie", and he was quite attached to that thing. I had a stupid stuffed fish that I liked but I wasn't nearly as attached. So, I discovered the perfect way to get under my brother's skin. I found tremendous joy and great humor in putting our little boy underwear on Charlie's head. The reaction I got, while, often physically painful, was overwhelmingly rewarding. At some point though, the underwear stunt was losing some of it's emotional satisfaction for me, or perhaps the level of revenge wasn't quite equal to the actions that instigated the revenge. So, I may have made things a little tougher for poor little Charlie. My sister has those old stuffed animals to this day, tucked away somewhere in her attic. She questioned me one day if I might be able to explain the multiple pencil stab wounds in Charlie's face and head. I honestly don't remember those aggressions very well but I'll be the first to admit that such behavior is not entirely foreign to my nature... I do kind of wish that I had a picture of little Charlie sitting on Webb's pillow with a pencil sticking out of his forehead. Below is not the real Charlie but rather an attempt to recreate in some degree the image for you.
Maui:
I have come to love my brother Webb dearly. He and I have been through so much together and we have become and are still best friends even though he lives in Maui and I live in Virginia. He asked me to be his best man at his wedding last year, which I considered to be a huge honor for I have never been the best man in anyone's wedding. In addition, it required me to be in Maui in June of 2007, there was no getting out of it, I was the best man after all, shucks! I got to be there with the people whom outside of my own family are dearest to me, whom have been there from the beginning: my Mom, my sister Debbie and Webb (Poppy, Sydney and Seth and his family were there too, also there from practically the beginning, which made it all the more wonderful). We all snorkeled together and for the first time in my life I got be in Hawaii and to swim amongst the beautiful tropical saltwater fish that I so loved as a child. We always had fish aquariums in our homes growing up and I would fantasize of being a little scuba diver in those aquariums. And so, those childhood dreams became a reality and I will cherish that whole experience for ever and ever.
(Sorry for the bathing suit shot folks, obviously what happened in Maui isn't staying in Maui)
