21. Before marrying and acquiring siblings through marriage I had cousins who were, and still are, like brothers and sisters to me. I am thankful for all my many cousins and there are A LOT of them, but Im especially thankful for the ones that filled the sibling void in my life. When I was five years old I lived with my Aunt Clara and Uncle Ron while my mom was very sick and in the hospital for 2 months. My cousins David, Don, Susan and Cindy treated me like just another sibling and I relished the time I stayed with them. It only made me want siblings more. I suspect it only made them all want siblings less... Anyway, when I was in grade school my cousin Rusty, along with his parents, wife, brother and his family & sister and her family started a wholesale growing grounds for annual color called Cam-Mar Growers in Encinitas, CA and then, in addition, they subsequently opened a retail shop called Sunshine Gardens to sell the color plants they grew to the public directly. I was 12 when Sunshine opened and I worked for my cousin that first day and then every day after - all through junior high, high school, college and... I still work on special projects for him 42 years later. He knows me better than any person alive, having been my boss, my cousin and my friend for all these years. He is my brother like no one else. Well, except for Rick. When I was in high school my cousin Rick lived nearby us while he was in college and he came to dinner often. He still calls me names, names that he made up from conversations we had during those dinners, names like snake and crayon. I still regret telling him anything, ever. The guy has a steel trap memory for stuff that annoys you! But! I still lord it over him that I creamed him 0-27 matches in a Chinese checkers tourney we had once during a Russian chess tournament. Later, after Rick was married, he moved in with us for a while when his job relocated him, just until he could bring his family to California from his home in Arizona. That was a hard time for Rick and Susie but I will never forget having him in our home. I loved having a brother. Him especially.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 21:55:23 +0000
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