I beg your indulgence but Im going to ramble about my brothers for a bit. Feel free to move on if this doesnt interest you. Its something I feel I need to get off my chest. ***** 1970s Johnny and Jimmy were totally disparate from each other. Johnny (my middle brother) was a gruff, but loving, biker guy with long shaggy black hair. Jimmy (my oldest brother) was a hippie without the long hair. Our dad was Archie Bunker. Both my brothers loved weed and Led Zeppelin. Other than that, they really had nothing in common. As for me, I was close to my middle sister only. My oldest sister and my two brothers were significantly older than me for me to have a tight bond with. I shared a bunk bed with Johny. I remember reading his Freak Brothers comic books and sneaking a look at his Screw and Hustler magazines. Jimmy, my hippie brother, got drafted to go to Vietnam. Johnny, my biker brother, voluntarily enlisted just to be over there with my brother. A year and change goes by... My brothers return from Vietnam. Jimmy the Hippie has two purple hearts. 1976. The Bicentennial year. Thanksgiving Day. Brother Johnny, the biker guy, is driving a Honda Civic while towing a U-Haul trailer in Southern California when it suddenly jackknifes from the heavy wind. Hes not wearing a seat belt (who did in the 70s?) and swan dives onto the freeway. He leaves behind a wife and several-months-old daughter. 1980s Im at Jimmys house watching Carlitos Way on his vcr. He knows Ive seen the movie at the theater. We both watch Al Pacino slowly dying from the gunshot wounds in the prologue. My brother, the hippie, turns to me and asks me if the character dies at the end of the movie. I tell him the truth and he starts to break down a little. He tells me about some of the atrocities hes seen during his year over in Vietnam. He confesses that he cannot watch Platoon yet he had no problem with Apocalypse Now with all its glorified action. He told me he can no longer watch a movie where he knows the hero dies at the end. 1994 Ive been at my new duty station in England for a week and Jimmy the hippie dies of a heart attack after a bout of pneumonia. My dad convinces me not to come home (I wont get into the details)... But I should have... I should have... I should have been a better brother. And theres your Brothers Week for you.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 05:12:24 +0000
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