The Family (Or most of them)

The Family (Or most of them)
The Family

January 28, 2007

My Brother is a Bother (OK, not really)

The fellow in the picture below, using my head for a tripod as I snap his picture, is my youngest brother, Gerry.


I hate to admit it, but like me, he is a tease. I wonder where he got that from?

I'm the oldest of a family of six kids. He's the youngest. In between are one other brother and three sisters.

And oh, those three sisters were fodder for the two of us, particularly, when we were growing up.

Me, the Big Bro, constantly haranguing them. He, the spoiled little mini-me, terrorizing them to no end.

We look a lot of like. And we are a lot alike. Deep voices. Opinionated. Jokesters. I'm proud to say I taught him everything he knows. He's about eight years younger than I am.

When I was 14 or 15 out playing hockey every night, he'd tag along and take the abuse that a kid that age should take from an older brother. I wouldn't cut him any slack.

But if my friends hurt him, they were dead meat, and they knew it.

At home, in our basement, he always wanted to be the goaltender. We had a hockey net set up down there and I'd take shots at him for hours on end. He loved it. So did I.

We spent incredible amounts of time together. I'm glad for that. More than glad.

As I grew older and left home, he was left to his own devices in a lot of ways. He grew tall and big, taller and bigger than me, and we kind of lost touch a bit.

In some ways, he became the black sheep of our family.

But when I went on a trip to India, he sent me a typed letter with no paragraphs that mostly contained a bunch of updates on this and that.

Hidden in there, though, was one sentence I'll always remember.

"I miss you a hell of a lot."

So, all these years later, here we are.

He's got two younger kids, I've got two older kids. He lives with his wife and family in a city about 3 hours away, so I see him at Christmas and at some family birthday parties, etc.

And wouldn't you know it, everything I taught him about teasing has come back to haunt me.

I, of course, have become his No. 1 target to tease, the aging older brother, the Titan of Tease, and now it's time for the younger lion to take on the old dominant male sibling.

He's become the King of Kidding, trying to knock me off my big rock, the one I've been perched on so long (think of the movie Lion King).

All the sisters and my mom and dad and my nieces and nephews know to watch out for me with a smile, they always try to catch me off-guard and tease me first, but they know it'll backfire...

And then Gerry turns up to challenge me for top dog, by taking pix like this...


The doink!

He took this pic of me from above, showing what is a much larger bald spot than I ever anticipated!! It's accentuated by the camera's flash...but I figure he got me good and won this round.

For our next family get-together, I plan on getting a closeup of his belly, which you can't see in this pic of him below but which is substantially bigger than mine. Buuu-huuu-haw-haw haw haw!!!!

28 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:21 p.m.

    Hey Chris - this is your younger brother - you know, the Crown Prince Tease waiting patiently to ascend to his throne. I like your blog - good idea.

    I don't remember writing you that letter when you were in India? Do you still have it. I'd like to look at it to see what I wrote.

    Why do you think I became the black sheep of the family? Please explain.......also, you're too old and grey to get the better of me anymore and your belly is just as big as mine so that one is a loss leader for you. You'll have to think of something else!

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  2. Anonymous8:53 p.m.

    As to the comment about my stomach being "substantially" bigger than yours - hell that's not the only part of my anatomy that is substantially bigger than yours!

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  3. The bond you share with your family is always so evident through your words. I love reading about the different connections you have with different people in your life.

    I grew up with three older brothers and am not especially close to any of them. I love them and all, but I don't share much about my life with them.

    That was a very touching post. However, there were two phrases that stuck with me and distracted me from everything else. The moment I read them I groaned (in a very good way). They were "deep voices" and "old dominant male". You absolutely are the Titan of Tease. ;)

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  5. Mini-me, I love that. I always feel like mini-me when I'm standing next to my son. He's 6'4 and I'm only 5'8.

    It sounds as if you and your brother are quite close again. I'm so glad.

    As for the photo of the top of your head...tell your brother that he can do what he wants with his testosterone and you'll do what you want with yours. That should shut him up. ;-)

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  6. Ah....the joys and trials of having siblings...trading insults, the practical jokes, gossiping about boys, ordering my little brother around...

    I would feel nostalgic except this is a weekly occurence up to now during Sunday mass when everybody's schedule prioritizes this weekly gathering. It's what I want for my kids so seriously not closing the door on kids # 3 and 4.

    It's great that you and your bother *whoops* I mean brother have rekindled your close relationship.

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  7. I concur with everything that you said about Gerry...he is the consumate smartass but charming enough to get away with it.

    It must have been great having a little brother to constantly impress...and boss around.

    What scares me the most is that your sister's son (who hangs out with my son) looks and acts exactly like Gerry did before he started morphing into you...

    so this is not only an environmental trait, it is genetic...
    which I find quite alarming.

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  8. Gerry...

    I've probably still got it around somewhere and will have a look around for it.

    Black sheep: I wasn't around for most of it, but you seemed to get yourself into a bit of trouble here and there as I recall...

    We'll have to have the goils take those belly measurements, bro, and we'll see about your last contention...

    Crown Prince Tease:

    Oh yeah...right. I forgot about about your head, your nose and your big toe.

    Anna:

    Thanks, but the whole reason for this post was me seeing that pic he took of my bald spot and me realizing just how much of a tease he has become!

    And you know what happens in a lions pride with the "old dominant male." He eventually gets chased out by the young one...

    Laurie:

    Ha! Signed on as Mike again and then deleted it, huh?

    I just tell Bro I've got enough testosterone for both of us but it's distributed differently...

    Menchie:

    Not sure I really got your second paragraph...you mean you want to see all that sibling kibitzing during your family's weekly gathering to go to church...and that you're contemplating two more kids to develop the larger family that makes that kind of feeling possible?

    Yeah, my bother's a brother and my brother's a bother.

    Aidan:

    I'm thinking of copyrighting those photos of HE and selling them on the internet. Would you like to reserve some?

    Thanks for your words.

    HE:

    Yes, the world should be very afraid...

    I tried to comment on your latest post yesterday but because you're still on old blogger, it seems I'll have to comment as anonymous.

    I tried signing on with my "new identity" and all that crap but it wouldn't take on your version of blogger.

    Then I lost my comment and never got back to trying it again.

    Switch to the new Blogger, dammit!

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  9. Anonymous11:59 a.m.

    6 kids in 8 years - good grief!

    Re the Crown Prince's claim to being anatomically larger needs substantiating - please show photos of all parts in dispute (both of you) next post so we, the discerning viewer, can make up our own minds as to the more superior bod.
    I can hardly wait!

    Ziggi

    ps you must have moved over to the darkside because I can nolonger comment as me!

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  10. Ziggi:

    Yes I have gone over to the dark side...and if I can, I'm going to be coming back.

    But this is strange...HE, for example, is still on the old Blogger and his avatar is there with his comment and he didn't have to comment as anonymous.

    This whole switch thing is anything but seamless. I wish now I hadn't switched.

    As far as pix of my brother and I side by side showing the particular parts of our anatomy you're referring to, you bad girl, he has refused.

    I'm not surprised.

    Actually, I haven't asked him.

    Meeting the needs of discernable viewers such as you would require one of us to make a three-hour trip or at least for us to meet halfway.

    And I don't really want us to have to strip naked out in some forest in the Canadian Shield just off the TransCanada Highway to have our pictures taken side by side.

    Have you heard of shrinkage in -25C temps?

    It would not be a pretty sight...and would hardly do us justice. In fact, they might just freeze solid and fall off.

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  11. Ok you bastard I switched over and I am not very impressed..
    does your Glooggler2 ask 5,000 times to sign in when you are trying to do something???

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  12. Haha -he gotcha good with that photo. Has reminded me of when my sister was taking a shower and I decided to take a photo of her -very cranky with the curtain pulled around herself - I don't think she's forgiven mwe yet.

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  13. WW,
    yup, you got it. It's crazy but since I'm usually not the target of the insults and practical jokes, you can probably understand why I am enjoying being with my siblings enough to think about expanding the bedlam.

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  14. Just don't let me catch you doing the Donald Trump comb-over.

    Ya hear me boy?

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  15. How did you know it was me? Ha!

    At least I was smart enough to delete it this time.

    Did I mention that I'm a blonde?

    I probably didn't have to.

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  16. Homo Eruptus in Angerus:

    Yeah, that seemed to happen when I tried putting photos on my first post under the new regime.

    Doesn't seem to happen so much now.

    But these other annoying things constantly happen:

    1. Every time I go to a new page on Glooggler2, a box comes up saying this website contains both secure and insecure items. That never happened before with old Blogger, R.I.P.

    2. More than half the time, when I go to enter a comment on someone's blog (whether they're on Glooggler or Blogger), even though I could swear I did the word verification thingie right, it doesn't take and I have to go through the whole stupid process again.

    You've already noted the agonizing anonymous thing as Gloogler assimilates the entire rest of Blogger and the inordinate number of times you have to sign in or otherwise sacrifice your entire remainder of life on this planet just to blog. Or should we call it Gloog.

    Hey and why are you calling me a bastard? If I went and jumped off a cliff, would you do that too?

    But I love that I have that power...

    Lee:

    Yeah, he got me good. So when are you posting the photo of your sister in the shower?

    Menchie:

    I like that term, "expanding the bedlam." Good one.

    MJ:

    I hear you.

    But why wouldn't I want to emulate a billionaire who has all the women in the world at his beck and call and his own stupid TV show that invites him to be nothing other than the asshole he is?

    All of that in return for a lousy hairdo every day?

    Laurie:

    Ve haf our vays, blondie...

    (Better just whisper that...I don't know if any blondes who might read this blog would be very appreciative).

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  17. ur bro looks like a great guy WW. Gotta be:) and heyy very sweet pics!

    Keshi.

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  18. Vat? Haf ju bene to der uld coundry? I taut ju vas der Canadianski, no der norvegan.

    Blonde Norwegian (part Swede too), the worst kind. ;-)

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  19. Those two annoying things you listed as constantly happening to you since you've switched... well, they've been happening to me too and I haven't made the switch. How odd.

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  20. btw nice music.

    Keshi.

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  21. Keshi:

    Thanks, Sheila.

    However, sometimes I'm embarrassed to say he comes from the same gene pool. (Just kidding, of course).

    Laurie:

    Only been to Finland, L. Haven't caught Sweden/Norway, this Canadianski.

    What's the worst kind of Swede/Norvegan blonde?

    Anna:

    You haven't switched...like HE said to you, they'll get you. Your computer will systematically explode in 5, 4, 3, 2...

    I don't think they have a clue what they're doing, if they even know from reading everyone's complaints...

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  22. Norvegians are bad enough, but blonde Svedish Norvegians are the worst kind.

    As my dad (the Swede) used to say to my mom (full blooded Norvegan) "You can always tell a Norvegian, but you can't tell them much."

    I won't even tell you what mom used to say to dad. Polite company and all. heh.

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  23. Sheila hehe :) ur good on Aussie slang.

    btw why did u go? come back to HE's blog. Lets make him serve us lunch...ehhh or dina :)

    Keshi.

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  24. Your brother seems quite a guy.

    Family is beautiful. I have three siblings...and I love the heck out of em! Crazy and different as we all are!

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  25. Laurie:

    Eww, that's a zinger from your dad to your mom...would have liked to have heard the response back, tho.

    Keshi:

    Just my attempt at trying to be the suave international master of intrigue and charm, that's all.

    I see HE trying to be Mr. Aussie all the time...

    No, I was just havin' a gander at HE's blog and saw you and him chatting it up on the dance floor, so had to get a little jab in...

    Awaiting:

    Yeah, siblings: you either love 'em...or love 'em.

    My bro emailed me to remind me of maybe our biggest childhood activity of all, collecting insects and other bugs, just going down the backlane and lifting rocks and pieces of wood and stuff...

    I don't know how I could have forgotten that one...

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  26. My mom and dad teased each other like that all the time. She could give it as well as she could take it. It was never hostile, just fun!

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  27. Anonymous5:43 p.m.

    Well, he really got you with that pic from above : ugly !! but don't worry, it will be better when it is completely bold. However, if you notice that your choir of female admirers is shrinking, you know the reason ... and that all thanks to your brother :-)

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  28. LOL cute!

    ** HE's blog and saw you and him chatting it up on the dance floor

    awwww n why dija leave?

    Keshi.

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If you choose to use anonymous to comment, it is only fair that I reserve the right to obliterate your comment from my blog.